Sunday, May 17, 2015

Lily of Palestine

When I did my post summarizing the Melkite Catholic Church, I noted that I didn't know of any Melkite Catholic saints on the general calendar, but this has changed. Today, St. Mariam Baouardy, also known as Mariam of Jesus Crucified, and often called the Lily of Palestine, was canonized by Pope Francis; and she is very definitely a Melkite Catholic. (I've updated that post to take it into account.)

After she refused to marry a man who was also trying to convert her to Islam, he slit her throat. She had a vision of a nun in blue who stitched her wound. She did survive, although her voice continued to be weak from that point on. She eventually became a Carmelite nun. She had visions all her life and was a stigmatic. She died on August 26, 1878, and August 26 is now her feast day on the general calendar.