Maria Grazia Tarallo

Under the name of Sister Maria of the Passion, she lived primarily at the convent of San Giorgio a Cremano, participating briefly in a foundation at Castel San Giorgio. She assumed modest tasks (kitchen, laundry, doorkeeper) before becoming mistress of novices in 1910. Her life was marked by intense Eucharistic adoration, sufferings offered for sinners, ecstasies, and diabolical vexations that left her partially paralyzed. She died on July 27, 1912, having nourished herself almost exclusively on the Eucharist.

The reputation for holiness of Sister Maria of the Passion spread rapidly after her death. The diocesan informative process opened in Naples in 1913 and closed in 1918. The cause was officially introduced in Rome in 1928. After the examination of her virtues, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues on April 19, 2004, conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The miracle accepted for her beatification is the instantaneous healing of the blindness of a young man, Francesco Cimino, whose eyes were brought into contact with the hand of the deceased during her exhumation in 1914. This miracle was approved in 2004 and promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on May 14, 2006, in the Cathedral of Naples by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins.

The spirituality of Blessed Maria of the Passion is centered on the Eucharist and union with the sufferings of Christ. Her legacy is perpetuated through the congregation of the Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Eucharist. Her mortal remains are venerated in the church of the Crucifix in San Giorgio a Cremano.