Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi

Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was born on April  2, 1566, and she died on May 25, 1607. She was an Italian Carmelite nun and mystic. She has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. She was from a noble family of Renaissance Florence. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was known to have worn little clothing and to have whipped herself with a crown of thorns. 1585 was one of the “earliest recorded cases of masochism, Sister Mary Magdalene de Pazzi begs other nuns to tie her up and hurl hot wax at her.” Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi is said to have found pleasure in being publicly whipped. Would you be willing to suffer that much for Christ?

Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi Biography

Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was born at Florence, Italy, on 2 April 2 1566. She was a member of one of the wealthiest and most distinguished noble families of Renaissance Florence.  At the age of nine, she was taught how to meditate by the family chaplain, using a then-recently published work explaining how one should meditate on the Passion of Christ. Years later, this book was one of the items she brought with her to the monastery.

Around the age of nine is also when Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi began practicing mortification of the flesh through self-flagellation, wearing a barbed metal cilice, and wearing a homemade crown of thorns. She received her First Communion at the then-early age of 10 and made a vow of virginity the same year. She was on the fast track.

She experienced her first ecstasy when she was just twelve years of age. From then on, she continued to exhibit what she considered to be many varied mystical experiences. In 1580, at age fourteen, Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was sent by her father to be educated at a monastery of nuns. However, she was sent home because she was too young.

Her father eventually relented and allowed Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi to enter monastic life. She chose the Carmelite monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence because the rule there allowed her to receive Holy Communion daily. On January 30, 1583, she was accepted as a novice by that community and took the religious name of Sister Mary Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi had been a novice for a year when she became critically ill. Upon receiving the religious habit, one of the sisters asked her how she could bear so much pain without a murmur. Mary pointed to the crucifix and said: Those who call to mind the sufferings of Christ, and who offer up their own to God through His passion, find their pains sweet and pleasant. Death seemed near, so her superiors let her make her profession of religious vows in a private ceremony, while lying on a cot in the chapel. Immediately after, she fell into an ecstasy that lasted about two hours. This was repeated on the following 40 mornings, each time after Communion.

It was believed that Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi could read the thoughts of others and predict future events. For instance, during one ecstatic event, she predicted the future elevation to the papacy of Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici (as Pope Leo XI). During her lifetime, she allegedly appeared to several persons in distant places and cured several sick people. She died on May 25, 1607, at the age of 41. In 1668, in preparation for her canonization, her body was declared miraculously incorrupt.

Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi Veneration

Two years after Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi died, her confessor published the life of this Carmelite nun as an edifying example. The 1639 edition was augmented with material relating to the mystic’s canonization and was purposefully dedicated to two nieces of Pope Urban VIII. Numerous miracles  followed her death, and the process for her beatification was begun in the year 1610 under Pope Paul V, and completed under Pope Urban VIII in the year 1626. She was not, however, canonized until 62 years after her death, when Pope Clement IX raised her to the altars on 28 April 1669. The

Conclusion

Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi makes it clear that people to whom Christ speaks endure some fantastic experiences. She experienced numerous ecstasies while in the convent, and it baffled her fellow nuns. Yet, she was apparently little known outside og Italy. Paulist Press issued a selection of her writings in English translation in their series of Classics of Western Spirituality. It is something you can read.