Maria Maddalena of the Holy Cross Alesci

On May 28, 1924, at the age of 22, Carmela entered the monastery of the Capuchin Poor Clares (commonly known as Cappuccinelle) in Palermo. On April 19, 1925, she received the religious habit there and took the name Sister Maria Maddalena del Santissimo Crocifisso (Maria Maddalena of the Holy Cross). From her novitiate, her health began to decline, marked by a dry and persistent cough. Although initial medical examinations revealed nothing abnormal, the sisters were concerned by her pallor. On May 23, 1926, the day of Pentecost, the chapter of the nuns voted unanimously in favor of her admission to religious profession. She pronounced her solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience on June 15, 1926. Barely fifteen days after her profession, three doctors formally diagnosed her with tuberculosis. Sister Maria Maddalena spent the rest of her brief existence in great physical and spiritual suffering, alternating between periods of bed rest and isolation due to the contagious nature of her illness. She passed away holily on November 3, 1929, in Palermo, at the age of 27.

The reputation for holiness of Sister Maria Maddalena del Santissimo Crocifisso spread rapidly after her death, both in Palermo and in Licata. On April 23, 1965, her remains were transferred to a simple tomb within the church of the Cappuccinelle monastery in Palermo, where she still rests. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially introduced at the diocesan level in Palermo on November 3, 1982, fifty-three years to the day after her death. The diocesan inquiry was validated by a decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on May 11, 1991. The Positio documenting her life and virtues was published the same year, on June 20, 1991. On June 24, 1997, the particular congress of theological consultants issued a favorable opinion on the heroicity of her virtues.

On July 3, 1998, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of the virtues of Sister Maria Maddalena del Santissimo Crocifisso, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable. The cause is currently awaiting the recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession to pave the way for her beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Maria Maddalena is deeply marked by total abandonment to the divine will and the joyful acceptance of suffering as a means of union with Christ. She wrote in particular to her spiritual director, Father Morinello: "The cross is precious; it is suffering that unites us to Jesus" and "All our holiness consists in doing the will of God in everything and always." Despite the trial of illness and a deep dark night of the soul where she felt spiritually "blind" and deprived of sensible consolations, she maintained a serene face and luminous eyes until her last breath. She liked to consider herself a "useless" sister to the world, transforming this humility into a true path of offering to the merciful Love. Her spiritual legacy remains alive, particularly in Sicily. In 2016, a pastoral community bringing together several parishes in Licata was officially named in her honor. Her tomb in Palermo remains a place of pilgrimage and constant devotion for many faithful.