Maria Adeodata Pisani
Encyclopedia
Born 29 December 1806 at Naples, Italy; Died 25 February 1855 at the Benedictine monastery at Mdina, Malta

Venerated: 24 April 2001 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues)

Beatified: 9 May 2001 by Pope John Paul II. The beatification process was delayed for many years.

Detail of beatification miracle: 24 November 1897 - the abbess Giuseppina Damiani from the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist Subiaco, Italy was suddenly healed of a stomach tumour following her request for Maria Pisani’s intervention.
Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

 Maria Adeodata Pisani, OSB.

Pope John Paul II declared her as a Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

 on 9 May 2001 at Floriana
Floriana
Floriana is a town in Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. Floriana is the birthplace of many famous Maltese, amongst which the composer of the national anthem, 'L-Innu Malti', Robert Samut; former Bishop of Malta Dom Mauro Caruana, the poet Oliver Friggieri, and Swedish Idol winner...

, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. Soon after, the huge portrait of the Blessed - a replica of the oil original painting commissioned in 1898 by the Archbishop of Rhodes and Bishop of Malta Pietro Pace in , was unveiled. The Pontiff also announced that her feast would be celebrated on 25 February, the day of her death.

The day after Pope John Paul II signed and released both the decree on the virtues and the miracle, paving the path for the beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

, the bishops released a pastoral letter
Pastoral letter
A Pastoral letter, often called simply a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of his diocese, or to both, containing either general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumstances...

 in which they emphasized that Maria Adeodata had had "a difficult childhood as her parents did not live together. She renounced and disposed of her wealth, willingly living as a cloistered nun." Even the team of theologian experts, while evaluating her life and virtues, admitted that she had to face serious difficulties.

Maria Adeodata Pisani was the daughter of a noble Maltese father (Benedetto Pisani, whose father Gaetano received the title of Barone di Frigenuini (Second Creation) from Grand Master Francisco Ximenes de Texada on the 17 June 1773 and was invested on the 21 June 1773).

While still a little child, her mother decided to leave home, unable to cope with the baron's irresponsible behaviour. She was cared for mostly by her grandmother, not her mother, and was given proper schooling for almost seven years, secluded in a college. A few years after her father was sent back to Malta by King Ferdinand
King Ferdinand
King Ferdinand may refer to:*Ferdinand I of Aragon *Ferdinand II of Aragon, also Ferdinand V of Castile and Leon , Ferdinand the Catholic, King of Aragon, Sicily, and Navarre, first king of united Spain...

, Maria Adeodata and her mother had to leave Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

. Once in Malta, she decided to become a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

, but her mother did not approve. Besides suffering from delicate health, Maria Adeodata had a deformity in her shoulder, caused, as it was testified, by a maid who beat her when she lived with her grandmother in Naples, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. She even kept a wound in one of her fingers to herself for three months without seeking any help. She suffered heartache
Heartache
Heartache may refer to:* Love sickness, condition involving romantic obsession or longing* A broken heart or heartbreak, emotions after loss, disappointment or relationship break-up* Heart Ache, an EP by Jesu* Heartache...

and hydropisis in silence, until death.

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