Clemenza Adelaide Cesira Ticchi

Clementina's arrival at the monastery of Mercatello sul Metauro occurred in a difficult context. Following the laws for the suppression of religious orders and a crisis of vocations, the community numbered only a few very elderly nuns, and none were able to assume the role of novice mistress. Consequently, Clementina's postulancy was unusually prolonged for three and a half years. To avoid the definitive closure of the monastery, the superiors decided to send nuns from other convents. On May 24, 1905, two nuns from the monastery of Pisa arrived in Mercatello: Sister Anna Paluffi, appointed superior, and Sister Agnese Graziani, designated as novice mistress. The new abbess established a rule according to which postulants had to return temporarily to their families in order to mature their choice in complete freedom. Clementina obeyed this directive, but her inner certainty remained unshakable. Upon returning to the monastery, she officially began her canonical novitiate on June 21, 1906, the day she received the religious habit and took the name Sister Maria Francesca (Mary Frances). She pronounced her temporary vows in 1907 and committed herself definitively through her perpetual vows on July 9, 1910. Recognized for her spiritual maturity, Sister Maria Francesca was appointed novice mistress in 1914, a role she exercised for eight years with great dedication, becoming a pillar for the formation of the young vocations that began to flow in again. In 1921, at the age of 34, the community elected her as abbess. However, this election was not confirmed by the bishop of the diocese of Urbania and Sant'Angelo, Msgr. Luigi Giacomo Baccini, due to her young age, as she had not reached the canonical age required for this function. Alongside her responsibilities, her life was marked by heavy physical trials. She suffered in particular for years from a painful swelling in her knee, which she strove to hide from those around her so as not to elicit compassion or special care. Other serious illnesses gradually weakened her, but she constantly maintained a serene face and a joyful smile. She passed away prematurely on June 20, 1922, at the age of 35, at the monastery of Mercatello sul Metauro.

The reputation for holiness of Sister Maria Francesca Ticchi spread rapidly after her death, both within her community and among the faithful of the region. On October 29, 1996, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the nihil obstat for the opening of her cause for beatification. From July 25, 1996, to December 8, 2000, the diocesan inquiry into her life and virtues took place within the Archdiocese of Urbino-Urbania-Sant'Angelo. On February 15, 2002, the decree of validity for the diocesan inquiry was promulgated. In 2018, the Positio super virtutibus, a summary document demonstrating the heroic nature of her virtues, was officially submitted to Rome. Finally, on November 23, 2020, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thereby conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

As a Venerable, the cause of Sister Maria Francesca Ticchi is currently awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession to pave the way for her beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Maria Francesca Ticchi is fully rooted in the Franciscan and Capuchin tradition, characterized by humility, joyful poverty, and confident abandonment to Divine Providence. Despite the intense physical suffering that marked her short life, she bore witness to a radiant joy and heroic patience, convinced that suffering offered out of love was a means of intimate union with Christ.

She left behind spiritual writings in which she expresses her desire to love God "with an infinite, most perfect, most pure, continuous, most true love" ("con un amore infinito, perfettissimo, purissimo, continuo, verissimo").

Her most tangible legacy is the spiritual and material rebirth of the monastery of the Capuchin Poor Clares of Mercatello sul Metauro. Her entry and fidelity allowed for the revitalization of this historic community that was threatened with extinction, fostering a renewal of contemplative vocations. Her mortal remains rest today in the church of this same monastery, where she continues to be venerated by the faithful.