Maria Edvige Zivelonghi

In September 1941, during a spiritual retreat at the Ursulines of Verona, Edvige heard for the first time about the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (Figlie di Gesù). This religious community was founded in Verona in 1812 by the Venerable Don Pietro Leonardi (1769-1844) with the mission of becoming "living images of Jesus" through abandonment to the divine will and the education of poor or abandoned children. Attracted by this charism, she requested and obtained a teaching position at their school in order to better understand their way of life. Desirous of dedicating herself entirely to God but still hesitating between the active and contemplative life, she sought advice from her confessor and requested the blessing of Don Giovanni Calabria (the future Saint John Calabria). The latter strongly encouraged her, saying: "Enter the Daughters of Jesus and do much good for the souls of the little ones who will be entrusted to you." Having obtained the agreement of her parents, she entered the postulancy on February 27, 1942. She began her novitiate in September of the same year. On September 14, 1944, she pronounced her first vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in Gaon (province of Verona). She was first sent to teach in Massa (1943-1944), then in Cerna (Verona) to look after children displaced by the fighting of the Second World War. In the autumn of 1945, she returned to teach in Massa.

It was during her stay in Cerna and Massa that her health began to deteriorate seriously. After several examinations and a stay at the civil hospital in Massa, she was repatriated to the Mother House in Verona, where doctors confirmed a diagnosis of advanced pulmonary tuberculosis. On August 26, 1946, she was admitted to the provincial sanatorium "La Grola" in Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. Although the separation from her religious community was a painful trial, she accepted it with total submission to the will of God. Within the women's pavilion of the sanatorium, which housed more than a hundred patients, Sister Maria Edvige became a consoling presence, a "mother" and a sister to her companions in misfortune, sharing their sufferings and helping them spiritually. On September 8, 1946, she renewed her temporary vows. In September 1948, she made a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Loreto. Faced with the irreversible worsening of her illness, she was authorized to pronounce her perpetual vows in articulo mortis (at the point of death). She passed away holily on March 18, 1949, at the La Grola sanatorium, at the age of 30. Her mortal remains were first buried in the monumental cemetery of Verona, awaiting a planned transfer to the chapel of her congregation's Mother House.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Sister Maria Edvige Zivelonghi was introduced in the Diocese of Verona. The diocesan inquiry into her reputation for holiness and the heroic nature of her virtues opened solemnly on September 16, 2003, and concluded on September 14, 2004. The validity of this inquiry was recognized by a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on April 29, 2005, paving the way for the drafting of the Positio, which was published in 2010. On May 19, 2018, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God. Sister Maria Edvige Zivelonghi was thus declared venerable.

Sister Maria Edvige's spirituality is deeply Christocentric and Marian, in line with the charism of the Daughters of Jesus and the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. It is also marked by the spirituality of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, living her consecration as a "holy servitude" of love to Jesus through Mary. In this perspective, suffering and illness are not endured, but offered joyfully in union with the Passion of Christ. Sister Maria Edvige left the testimony of a holiness of daily life, lived in joy and total self-giving, without half-measures. She summarized her ideal of life with these words: "We follow the simple path and give the Lord everything we can give. The important thing is to give everything one can." She frequently repeated to her sisters: "Let us become saints, my sisters, that is our goal!" (Facciamoci sante, sorelle, ecco il nostro scopo !).