Blessed Elisabeth Picenardi

Summary

A noblewoman from Mantua, Elisabeth Picenardi consecrated her virginity to God and joined the Third Order of the Servites. Leading a life of prayer, mortification, and humility, she trained many young girls in piety before dying at the age of forty in 1468. Her relics, famous for their miracles, rest today in the Diocese of Cremona.

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BLESSED ELISABETH PICENARDI (1468).

Life 01 / 02

Youth and religious vocation

Coming from the nobility of Mantua, Elizabeth dedicated herself early to piety and refused marriage to join the Third Order of the Servites.

Elizabeth had as parents two nobles living in Mantua, named Leonardo Picenardi and Pa nie Nuvoloni. The latter took care of Elizabeth's education and trained her early in the practice of Christian virtues; the pious child loved to withdraw into a small cell, and there she meditated on the word of God; her only recreations were to go from her parents' house to the church of Saint Barnabas, where she was noted for her piety. He r qualities and virtues soon attracted attention and many suitors presented themselves; but Elizabeth, who had consecrated her virginity to God, refused them all, and, with her father's permission, having retired to the home of a sister she had, she entered the Third Order of the Servites.

Life 02 / 02

Ascetic life, guidance, and legacy

Leading a life of prayer and humility, she guided other women toward religious life before dying in 1468; her relics were later transferred to Cremona.

From then on, she led an even more perfect way of life. Her prayer was continuous, and she mortified her body in every way; each day she confessed and received the Holy Eucharist. The example of her virtues attracted a number of young women who wished to place themselves under her guidance; Elizabeth edified them and formed them so well in piety that they wished to enter the Third Order. Such a perfect life earned her the favors of heaven. It is said that she never prayed to the Blessed Virgin in vain; she was regarded as an excellent advocate before God and Mary. The esteem in which she was held and the particular graces she received from God did not in any way diminish her humility; she always wanted to be considered the most sinful and despicable of creatures. At the age of forty, she was struck by an intestinal illness that led her to the grave; she died on February 19, 1468. Her body, according to her wish, was carried to the church of Saint Barnabas, and a great number of miracles oc curred there. Her relic s were, after several translations, deposited in 1779 in the chapel of the Picenardi family, in the diocese of Cremona, in a place called the Field of the Towers: th ey are still prese rved there today with respect.