Born Rosana in Faenza, she lived nine years in marriage before embracing religious life with her husband. After a period of reclusion, she founded a convent in Florence attached to the Vallombrosan Order. She is known for her mystical visions, notably of her two guardian angels, and her devotion to the Passion.
Guided reading
4 reading sections
BLESSED HUMILITY OF FLORENCE (1310).
Youth and marriage
Born Rosana in Faenza into a noble family, she initially refused marriage before wedding Ugelotto Caccianemici out of parental obedience.
Rosana Rosana Saint of noble origin, a recluse and later the founder of a convent in Florence. , who was later called Sister Humility, was born in Faenza, in the Romagna. Her noble father, Signor Altimonte, and her no less noble mother, Signora Rachilda, saw with sorrow their child early on despise the fine dresses and finery in which feminine vanity so willingly delights.
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa having stationed a garrison in Faenza, one of the officers of his army was seduced by the beauty of Rosana and asked for her hand. The young girl managed to decline this alliance: later, however, she married, no doubt out of submission to her parents, an inhabitant of her native city, Ugelotto Caccianemici, whose family had provided a pope to the Catholic Church: Lucius III. This union lasted nine years, during which Rosana did not cease to ask her husband for an amicable separation. He replied only with irony to such a prayer; but it happened that Ugelotto fell ill; the doctors declared to him that continence had become a necessity for him. In this way, a first separation was realized, and grace brought about another. Both spouses had themselves admitted, each on their own side, into the double convent of Saint Perpetua, located at the gates of Faenza. Sister Humility remained there for only thre sœur Humilité Saint of noble origin, a recluse and later the founder of a convent in Florence. e years, at the end of which she embraced the life of a recluse, near the church of Saint Apollinaris. Twelve years later, she went to Florence to found a convent Florence City where Julie served as a maid. affiliated with Vallombrosa.
Religious vocation and foundations
After nine years of marriage, the couple separated for the religious life; Rosana became a recluse and then founded a Vallombrosan convent in Florence.
She dedicated this conve nt to Saint John the Eva saint Jean l'Évangéliste Appears with the Virgin to instruct Gregory. ngelist, for whom she had a particular devotion, and who often favored the servant of God with his visits.
Revelations and mystical life
The saint received revelations concerning her two guardian angels, Sapiel and Emmanuel, and manifested an intense devotion to the Passion of Christ.
Among the many revelations she received from heaven, one of the most remarkable is that which taught her that, in addition to her guardian angel, she had a second one who had been given to her when she became abbess, to assist her in the government of her community. The first, who was of the legion of angels, was named Sapiel, that is to say, wisdom of Jehovah, and the other, who belonged to the order of the cherubim, was named Emmanuel, that is to say, God with us. One will enjoy reading the prayer by which our Blessed one entrusted the guarding of all her senses to them. "When I think," she said, "of the high origin and celestial nobility of my two guardian angels, I am all glorious in my heart. But when I think of their incomparable beauty, I am in rapture; finally, when I think that I have as friends two celestial spirits who, while constantly standing before the throne of God, nevertheless accompany me through life, to assist me faithfully in my sorrows and in my needs, I am in ecstatic joy. With them I fear no enemy; they are for me like an impenetrable wall, like an invulnerable shield, like an unshakable rock. They lead and direct me with the wisdom of a father and the tender solicitude of a mother, instructing me in all kinds of virtues. — Good angels, my powerful protectors, guard all my ways and watch carefully at the door of my heart, lest I be surprised by the enemies! Brandish your protective sword before me; guard also the door of my mouth, so that no useless word may escape my lips! May my tongue be like a sword, when it is a question of fighting vices or teaching virtue! Close my eyes with a double seal, when they would wish to see with complacency anything other than Jesus; but keep them open and awake, when it is a question of praying and singing the praises of the Lord! Watch also at the door of my ears, so that they may always repel with disgust everything that comes from vanity or the spirit of evil! Put shackles on my feet, when they would wish to go to sin; but hasten their steps, when it is a question of working for the glory of God, or of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or for the salvation of souls! Make my hands always, like yours, ready to execute the orders of God! Stifle in me the sense of smell of the body, so that my soul may breathe only the sweet perfume of celestial flowers! In a word, guard all my senses, so that my soul may constantly delight in God and in celestial things! My beloved angels, I have been placed under your guard by the sweet Jesus; I pray you to keep me always with care, for the love of him! Pray the eternal Word not to allow me to ever love anything other than him! O Emmanuel, O Sapiel, my beloved angels, I beseech you to lead me one day into the presence of the Queen of heaven, and to pray her to place in my arms the divine Child Jesus, her beloved son!"
The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the constant object of the meditations of our holy religious. One day, when the consideration of the sufferings of Jesus had drawn tears from her, she noticed, while wiping them away, that these tears were of blood.
Death and historical legacy
She died in 1310; her Florentine convent was destroyed in 1529 during the conflicts involving Charles V.
Blessed Humility was reunited with the angels and saints she had loved so much on earth on May 22, 1310. The convent she had founded at the gates of Florence was destroyed in 1529, during the wars between Charles V and the Florentin es: all that Charles-Quint Emperor involved in the wars leading to the destruction of the convent. remained to mark the site was a well where, it is said, the Saint found ice in the middle of summer.
A.A. SS. A.A. SS. Hagiographic collection cited as a source. , May 22.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Marriage to Ugelotto Caccianemici (duration 9 years)
- Entered the double monastery of Saint Perpetua in Faenza
- Lived as a recluse near the church of Saint-Apollinaire for 12 years
- Foundation of a Vallombrosan convent in Florence
- Dedication of the convent to Saint John the Evangelist
Miracles
- Tears of blood during meditation on the Passion
- Discovery of ice in a well in the middle of summer at the site of her convent
Quotes
-
When I think of the high origin and celestial nobility of my two guardian angels, I am all glorious in my heart.
Prayer of Blessed Humility