Maria Allegri

At the Monastery of Charity in Florence, Margherita received the habit on August 14, 1673, under the name of Sister Maria Margherita Diomira of the Incarnate Word. She pronounced her vow of stability after following the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, centering her spirituality on the mystery of the Incarnation. She manifested extraordinary mystical gifts: ecstasies, visions, prophecies, and the reading of hearts. On March 3, 1677, she received the stigmata of the Passion of Christ, a phenomenon examined and attested to by the physician Francesco Redi, who was sent by Princess Violante of Bavaria. Afflicted with tuberculosis, she offered up her sufferings and died on December 17, 1677, at the age of 26.

By order of her spiritual director, Father Domenico Baldi, her mystical experiences were recorded in writing by Sister Reparata. In 1703, Msgr. Pier Luigi Malaspina published her first biography, and the cause for beatification was introduced in 1704. After a long interruption, the diocesan phase was reopened by the Archdiocese of Florence and closed on March 27, 2010. The Positio on the heroic nature of her virtues received a favorable opinion from historians in 2018, from theologians in 2021, and from cardinals and bishops on January 17, 2023.

On January 19, 2023, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Maria Margherita Diomira of the Incarnate Word, officially declaring her Venerable. The recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession is now required for her beatification.

The spirituality of Maria Margherita Diomira is centered on kenosis and the mystery of the Incarnation, translating into radical humility and a spirituality of victimhood where she offered her sufferings for the Church and for priests. Her writings were published in 1979 under the title 'Scritti e detti' with a preface by Don Divo Barsotti. Her legacy is perpetuated by the Sisters Established in Charity in Italy and Brazil. In Firenzuola, she is invoked as a protectress against earthquakes.