Anna Mezzacapo

In 1932, at the age of 18, Anna Antonietta entered the cloistered monastery of the Discalced Carmelites of Marcianise (Monastero di Santa Teresa). She was followed there a few years later by two of her sisters. She made her first religious profession on June 6, 1934, and her solemn profession on November 24, 1938. Appointed novice mistress in 1945, she was elected prioress of the monastery in 1951, at the age of 37. She was subsequently confirmed in this office for four other successive triennial terms. During her mandates, she devoted herself fully to the spiritual formation of her sisters and supervised major renovation work on the monastery buildings. Her governance was, however, marked by painful community trials. In 1961, relational difficulties with a novice and a few nuns led the Holy See to order an apostolic visitation. Conducted in 1962 by Father Agostino Rosati, O.S.S.T., this investigation concluded with the full innocence of Mother Colomba, who was confirmed in her duties as prioress. In 1965, new accusations brought by certain sisters provoked a second canonical visitation, led by the Archbishop of Capua, Mgr. Tommaso Leonetti. Faced with these slanders and misunderstandings, Mother Colomba maintained a remarkable inner peace, choosing to sincerely forgive all her detractors. She continued to serve the community humbly and exercised a fruitful apostolate among the faithful who came to the monastery parlor. Re-elected prioress in 1968, she fell seriously ill at the end of that same year. After undergoing delicate surgery in January 1969, she passed away in holiness on August 13, 1969, in Marcianise.

The reputation of holiness of Mother Colomba di Gesù Ostia spread rapidly after her death. In 1977, her mortal remains were transferred from the municipal cemetery of Marcianise to the Church of Santa Teresa, adjacent to the former Discalced Carmelite monastery (located on Via G.B. Novelli), where the faithful continue to come to pray at her tomb. The cause for beatification was officially opened in the 1980s. The diocesan process took place from 1991 to 1993, supplemented by an additional diocesan inquiry in 1997-1998. During this phase, twenty-four witnesses (lay and religious) were questioned to attest to the heroic nature of her virtues, and all of her personal writings (letters and spiritual notes) were rigorously examined by theologians.

On May 22, 2021, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of the Christian virtues of Anna Antonietta Mezzacapo. Through this act, she was officially declared Venerable. The cause is currently awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession to pave the way for her beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Colomba di Gesù Ostia is deeply Eucharistic and Marian, characterized by a desire for total union with Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. In her personal notes, she expresses her offering thus: "Jesus-Host, my adored Spouse, through my union with You, I want to be a sign in the world." She lived in absolute detachment from material goods, always choosing the most worn-out clothing for herself and keeping her cell in extreme simplicity, adorned only with an image of the Holy Face and a small statue of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Her spiritual legacy lies particularly in her heroic patience in the face of calumnies and community divisions, offering her sufferings for the sanctification of families, priests, and the Church.