Bienheureuse Imelda
Lambertini
Jeune
dominicaine (+ 1333)
Fille du comte de
Bologne, elle fut éduquée chez les dominicaines de cette ville. A 11 ans, chose
étonnante pour cette époque, elle communia juste au moment de mourir.
"Cette petite sainte italienne a été surnommée : la fleur de
l'Eucharistie. Elle est la patronne des premiers communiants."
À Bologne en Émilie, l'an 1333, la bienheureuse Imelda Lambertini, vierge.
Accueillie dès son plus jeune âge comme moniale dans l'Ordre des Prêcheurs,
elle rendit l'âme soudain, à l'âge de onze ans, dès qu'elle eût reçu l'Eucharistie
d'une façon merveilleuse.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6930/Bienheureuse-Imelda-Lambertini.html
Votre enfant prépare sa
première communion ? Parlez-lui d’Imelda Lambertini
Isabelle Cousturié ✝ - publié
le 12/05/18
Votre enfant s’apprête à
recevoir sa première communion ? Lisez-lui l’histoire de sa future sainte
patronne, la jeune Imelda Lambertini que l’on fête le 12 mai.
Du temps où vivait
Madeleine-Imelda Lambertini il fallait avoir 14 ans pour être admis à la
communion. Elle, toute petite, déjà si pleine du Christ, se désole de devoir
attendre autant. Elle qui a échappé à sa famille pour entrer au couvent Sainte-Marie-Madeleine
des dominicaines de Valdiprétra (Bologne), dès ses 10 ans, pour être au plus
près du Seigneur. À chaque fois qu’on lui refuse une dispense, c’est un fleuve
de larmes qui s’écoule de ses joues. « Je vous en prie, expliquez-moi comment on
peut recevoir Jésus dans son cœur sans mourir de joie », supplie-t-elle à
chaque fois que les religieuses quittent leurs compartiments pour aller
communier.
“Nous avons peut-être
donné le jour à une petite sainte…”
La dévotion de Madeleine pour le Saint-Sacrement bouleverse son entourage. Tous sont émerveillés de voir en ce petit bout de femme une âme si pure et si chrétienne. Ne pas pouvoir porter en elle la chair du Seigneur sous la forme du petit disque de pain est pour elle une vraie souffrance. La petite italienne a tout quitté : l’éclat des richesses et tout le confort de sa famille pour vivre pleinement le bonheur de sa foi. “Nous avons peut-être donné le jour à une petite sainte. Laissons-la répondre à la voix qui l’appelle…”, dit sa maman à son papa pour la laisser partir. L’amabilité, la gentillesse, la pureté, de cette enfant est si exemplaire qu’il devient tout naturel, lorsqu’elle entre chez les dominicaines, de changer son nom — Madeleine — en Imelda, c’est-à-dire “aussi douce que le miel” en italien.
Lire aussi :
Première
communion : les questions incontournables des enfants
Le miracle de l’hostie
Au couvent des dominicaines, la sainte enfant passe des heures en adoration devant Jésus-Hostie. Jamais un geste de lassitude. Et la nuit, elle se lève en cachette pour suivre les religieuses jusqu’à la chapelle et chanter les offices avec elles. Très vite, Imelda devient une joie et un exemple pour le couvent. Néanmoins une sorte de tristesse au sortir de la messe n’échappe pas aux religieuses. Elle a beau supplier d’être admise à la sainte Table, on ne croit pas devoir faire exception pour elle.
Lire aussi :
Que
faire quand une hostie consacrée tombe par terre ?
Mais c’est sans compter
sur l’intervention de Jésus, et sa “faiblesse” devant autant d’amour, pour
faire avancer la date obligatoire. Nous sommes le jour de l’Ascension, le 12
mai 1533. Imelda a désormais 11 ans et elle vient encore une fois de plus
supplier son confesseur. Rien à faire. Il reste inflexible. Et comme à chaque
fois, elle s’en va à la messe en pleurant. Mais soudainement, au moment de la
communion, une hostie s’échappe du ciboire, s’élève dans les airs et franchit
la grille du chœur pour s’arrêter au-dessus de son front. L’assemblée est
muette de stupeur. Et le célébrant lui-même ne peut résister à un tel prodige.
Il s’approche avec la patène, les mains tremblantes. Quand l’hostie immobile se
pose dessus, tous ses doutes s’envolent. Puis il regarde Imelda. Elle a les
lèvres ouvertes. Oui, c’est ce que le Seigneur veut, et la petite fille reçoit
la sainte Communion.
La récompense
Dans l’église, c’est l’exultation. Le chœur des religieuses entonne avec ferveur le plus beau des chants de gratitude, celui du Magnificat. La joie est à son comble. Mais Imelda, elle, n’entend pas. La tête baissée, agenouillée, elle est absorbée dans ses actions de grâce. C’est le plus beau moment de sa vie. Elle a enfin le Christ en elle. Le temps s’écoule. Personne n’ose intervenir. Puis l’inquiétude prend le dessus sur la joie de ne pas la voir se relever. On la touche mais elle ne bouge pas. Puis elle s’affaisse dans les bras de deux religieuses. Imelda, « la miraculée de l’hostie », comme on l’appellera, est morte. Le bruit de cette bienheureuse mort se répand. Une foule se précipite pour l’entourer, la prier et des grâces son obtenues par son intercession.
Lire aussi :
Quel
cadeau choisir pour une première communion ?
Imelda est béatifiée en
1826 par le pape Léon XII, puis déclarée patronne des premiers communiants en
1910 par le pape Pie X qui avance alors la date d’admission des enfants au
sacrement à un âge plus précoce. Le petit corps de la Bienheureuse, miraculeusement
intact, repose dans un beau reliquaire, dans l’église de Saint-Sigismondo, à
Bologne. Sur son beau visage, l’expression qu’elle avait lors de son trépas,
jour de l’Ascension du Seigneur au ciel, qui semble dire : “Mon Jésus, c’est ma
plus grande récompense”.
Lire aussi :
Première
communion : les questions incontournables des enfants
Vie de la Bienheureuse
Imelda Lambertini
Vierge de l'ordre de
Saint-Dominique
Par le Vénérable Père
Marie-Jean-Joseph Lataste
Lu et approuvé
le 14 octobre 1865,
Frère Auguste Martin
O.P., Maître en Théologie Sacrée des Frères Précheurs.
Frère J.M. Monsabré O.P.
Imprimatur
Frère E.C. Minjard O.P.
Provincial de la Province
de France.
Dédicace
C'est à vous que je dédie
plus particulièrement ce petit livre, chers petits enfants, qui vous préparez à
la première communion, vous que le Sauveur Jésus aimait tant! vous qu'il a tant
honorés en la personne d'une de vos compagnes, la petite Imelda; vous enfin
qu'il va honorer bientôt d'une grâce presque semblable, en se donnant à vous!
Toute communion n'est-elle donc pas un miracle?.. Je n'ose vous souhaiter la
mort de notre petite sainte, si belle et si heureuse qu'elle soit! Que diraient
vos mères !.. Du moins, je vous souhaite sa vie. Vivez de telle sorte que le
bon Sauveur puisse nous dire de vous ce qu'il disait à ses disciples au temps
de son passage sur la terre. « Si vous ne devenez semblables à ces petits
enfants, vous n'aurez point d'entrée au royaume des cieux ». C'est à vous que
je dédie ce petit livre, mais c'est aussi à vos mères, à vos grandes sœurs, à
tous vos parents enfin, à toutes les familles chrétiennes. Dieu veuille à cette
lecture, retremper leurs âmes dans les souvenirs de leur première communion,
elles exciter à vous accompagner bientôt à la sainte table, et y recevoir enfin
du Dieu de l'Eucharistie le baiser de la réconciliation et de l'amour.
« Achevée en peu de
jours, sa vie a rempli beaucoup d'années parce qu'elle a beaucoup aimé ».
Il n'est peut-être pas de
vie plus angélique ni de mort plus sainte à la fois et plus merveilleuse que
celle de la Bienheureuse Imelda, de l'ordre de Saint Dominique. Sa jeunesse, sa
douce piété, sa pureté surtout et son amour pour l'Époux des Vierges auraient
dû, semble-t-il, en faire la patronne obligée de toutes les congrégations de
jeunes filles. Il en est ainsi, dit-on, en Italie et en Espagne; là on la
propose pour modèle à toutes les jeunes personnes, particulièrement à l'époque
de la première communion; mais dans notre patrie elle n'est pas connue; en
dehors de l'ordre des Frères Prêcheurs, où elle est spécialement honorée (1) et
où elle a toujours compté de fidèles dévots, il n'est peut-être pas en France
un seul cœur qui se tourne quelquefois vers elle et recoure à son aimable
intercession. Puissent les quelques lignes qui vont suivre la faire connaître
et aimer d'un grand nombre d'âmes! Puissent-elles surtout les porter à
l'imiter! Puisse enfin notre Bienheureuse obtenir à tous ceux qui les liront,
comme à celui qui les a écrites, un peu de ce sublime amour qui consuma sa vie
sitôt écoulée et si bien remplie!
I
Notre angélique docteur,
saint Thomas, un des interprètes les plus éclairés des choses divines, nous
enseigne dans ses écrits, que la perfection de la vie chrétienne est toute dans
la charité, et il semble que Dieu ait voulu confirmer cette vérité dans les
merveilles opérées par lui en la bienheureuse Imelda: une enfant de douze ans à
peine, qui, par une charité tout exceptionnelle, est devenue une sainte et a
mérité d'être mise sur nos autels! D'une pureté tout angélique, elle a beaucoup
aimé, comme Madeleine (2)! Elle a beaucoup aimé! Voilà toute sa vie; voilà
comment en peu de jours elle a vécu de longues années.
Issue de la noble famille
des Lambertini de Bologne, Imelda donna dès sa jeunesse des signes d'une piété
rare et d'une maturité précoce. Il est de ces enfants merveilleux qu'on
croirait des Anges prêtés un instant à la terre pour l'édifier et la réjouir;
ils inspirent à ceux qui les approchent un respect involontaire; ils attirent à
eux tous les cœurs; mais leur vie est courte, et leur fin prématurée n'étonne
pas. Chacun répète en versant des larmes et des fleurs sur leur tombe: « Cette
âme était trop pure pour la terre, elle n'était pas faite pour nous! »
Telle fut notre
Bienheureuse. Elle était encore tout enfant, et déjà Ton remarquait en elle
quelque chose de surnaturel, une délicatesse extrême, une pudeur instinctive et
gracieuse, qui jetaient dans l'admiration tous ceux qui avaient le bonheur de
la voir de près. Venait-elle à pleurer, au lieu des contes dont on amuse
d'ordinaire les enfants, on n'avait qu'à s'entretenir devant elle de choses
pieuses, qu'à prononcer les Noms bénis de Jésus et de Marie pour ramener le sourire
sur ses lèvres et sécher à l'instant tous ses pleurs. A peine sortie de
l'enfance, elle s'était construit de ses propres mains un petit oratoire où,
fuyant les jeux ordinaires de son âge, elle récitait gravement les psaumes de
David et d'autres dévotes prières. Toutes les séductions du monde, toutes les
splendeurs de la maison de son père n'inspirèrent que du dédain à notre jeune
vierge; et, dès qu'elle eut commencé à les connaître, dès l'âge de dix ans,
elle résolut de s'en séparer au plus vite et d'embrasser pour l'amour de Jésus
la pauvreté, l'obéissance et la chasteté dans une maison religieuse où elle pût
être toute à lui.
Elle obtint de ses pieux
parents d'être placée au couvent de Sainte Marie Madeleine, à Valdipietra, près
Bologne, et d'y revêtir, selon la coutume du temps, l'habit de notre saint
Ordre, en attendant le jour où, plus capable de mesurer la portée de ses
engagements, elle pourrait enfin être admise à prononcer solennellement des
vœux qu'elle avait déjà prononcés irrévocablement dans son cœur.
La plus jeune et la plus
inexpérimentée de toutes, elle fut bientôt pour toutes un sujet d'édification
autant que d'étonnement. Il n'était pas de point si difficile dans la règle
qu'elle n'accomplît avec une scrupuleuse exactitude, pas de si rudes combats à
livrer à sa volonté et à ses affections personnelles qu'elle n'en sortît
toujours victorieuse, pas de pénitence si austère qu'elle ne voulût l'infliger
à son petit corps. S'il faut en croire la tradition, (elle si pure pourtant !)
elle pratiqua la mortification corporelle à l'égal de ces femmes longtemps
criminelles, célèbres depuis par leurs pénitences expiatoires. Eh! pourquoi
donc? Parce que, dit un vieil auteur, quand on porte au cœur un ardent amour,
il faut qu'il éclate et se fasse jour en quelque manière. Comme la jeune Agnès,
elle eût été bien heureuse de donner sa vie pour l'amour de Dieu; ne le pouvant
pas, du moins elle a voulu châtier son corps pour se consoler dans les
souffrances de n'être pas, elle aussi, martyre de Jésus-Christ.
En peu de temps elle
devint un type si accompli des vertus religieuses, que ses sœurs, les plus
anciennes elles-mêmes, n'hésitèrent pas à la prendre pour leur modèle. Toutes
l'aimaient de cet amour irrésistible qu'engendre dans les âmes pures une véritable
vertu. Elle se faisait remarquer surtout par son assiduité à l'oraison, son
amour filial pour la Reine des anges et sa dévotion extraordinaire envers la
très-sainte Eucharistie. Elle n'avait pas de plus grand bonheur que de passer
des heures entières auprès de l'adorable Sacrement de nos autels; elle y
goûtait en son cœur la vérité de ces paroles du Prophète : Que vos tabernacles
sont aimables, Seigneur, Dieu des vertus!.. Qu'ils sont doux vos autels, mon
Seigneur et mon Dieu! Comme un seul jour passé dans votre sanctuaire vaut mieux
que mille sous les tentes des pécheurs!.. Chaque jour, pendant le saint
sacrifice, elle demeurait absorbée dans la méditation de ce mystère ineffable;
son amour alors se trahissait par des larmes, et la violence de ses désirs
arrachait à son âme virginale de chastes soupirs qu'elle essayait en vain
d'étouffer. Mais c'était surtout au moment de la sainte communion, quand ses
compagnes allaient s'asseoir au céleste banquet, intérieurement. Dans ses
récréations, indifférente à tout ce qui se passait autour d'elle, une seule
question la préoccupait, et elle ne cessait de la poser à ses compagnes, naïve
enfant qu'elle était : Oh! je vous en prie, disait elle avec une ingénuité tout
angélique, expliquez-moi comment on peut recevoir Jésus dans son cœur et ne pas
mourir !..
Cependant les supérieurs,
moins attentifs à la piété, à la modestie, à la sagesse précoce de la jeune
vierge qu'à sa jeunesse même, ne jugèrent pas devoir l'admettre encore à la
sainte Table, car c'était alors l'usage dans ces pays de ne pas faire la
première communion avant l'âge de quatorze ans. Imelda dut se résigner et
attendre.
Oh! qui pourra bien dire
ce qu'elle a souffert! Quel tourment, s'écrie le vieil auteur espagnol que je
citais tout à l'heure, quel tourment, quand on aime et quand on aime Dieu, de
désirer l'union, et de ne voir jamais son désir assouvi!.. Aimer Dieu! soupirer
après lui, aspirer à le recevoir dans son cœur, à l'étreindre des bras de son
âme, et Favoir toujours sous les yeux, et ne l'avoir jamais à soi!.. Quel
supplice! Et toutefois, heureux, ô mon Dieu, ceux qui ont ainsi votre amour
pour bourreau, continue notre pieux auteur (3), et qu'il serait à désirer que
tous les mortels, et moi avec eux, fussions torturés en cette manière. Il dit
ailleurs: Sainte Thérèse appelle l'amour divin enfer, suivant ces paroles
sacrées: L'amour est fort comme la mort, l'amour est dur comme l'enfer, Fortis
est ut mors dilectio, dura sicut infernus œmulatio (C. C. VIII, 6.); mais mille
fois heureux, Seigneur, celui qui recevrait ainsi de votre main le coup mortel,
et se verrait précipité dans ce divin enfer doit il n'espérerait plus, ou pour
mieux dire, d'où il ne craindrait plus de sortir jamais!
II
Imelda fut donc réduite à
attendre. Mais on ne saurait voir longtemps ses espérances frustrées, quand une
fois, ô mon Dieu, on s'est mis d'un cœur sincère à la recherche de votre amour;
car il n'y a devant vous acception d'âge ni de personne, et l'amour seul est de
quelque poids à vos yeux. C'est ce que vous nous avez déclaré vous-même par la
bouche du Sage : Ceux qui m'aiment sont aimés de moi, avez-vous dit; et ceux
qui me cherchent dès le matin me trouveront infailliblement. Cette parole
divine ne pouvait faillir, et celui qui se plaît parmi les lis ne tarda pas de
se rendre aux désirs de la pieuse enfant.
C'était le jour de
l'Ascension, 12 mai 1333, notre petite sainte avait alors douze ans, presque
l'âge de Marie quand elle reçut en son cœur la visite du Fils de Dieu. Ses
compagnes, heureuses et recueillies, allaient, chacune à son tour, prendre leur
place à la table des anges. Imelda seule ne s'y rendit pas. Agenouillée devant
sa petite stalle, elle pleurait d'envie en songeant à leur bonheur. Jamais
prières plus ferventes, ni larmes plus brûlantes et plus pressées n'avaient
accompagné des désirs plus impatients. Les yeux levés au ciel, ses deux petites
mains croisées sous son scapulaire blanc, et comprimant sa poitrine comme pour
modérer la violence des battements de son cœur qui semblait près de se rompre,
elle pressait entre ses doigts l'image de Jésus crucifié qui ne la quittait
jamais, et lui disait doucement avec l'âme sainte des Cantiques: « Venez, ô le
Bien-Aimé de mon âme! Descendez dans ce jardin qui est tout à vous, et
cueillez-en les fruits. Ou cessez d'abaisser vers moi vos regards, ou laissez mon
âme s'envoler sur vos traces. Entraînez-moi après-vous, que je coure à l'odeur
de vos parfums! Vous m'êtes, ô mon Bien-Aimé, comme un bouquet de myrrhe; votre
image bénie reposera toujours sur mon sein; mais que ne puis-je faire davantage
et moi aussi vous donner asile aujourd'hui, et vous faire fête dans mon cœur!
Venez, Seigneur Jésus, venez, car je languis d'amour et me meurs du désir de
votre adorable présence!.. »
Mais Jésus ne venait pas;
et sachant que tout est possible à une prière opiniâtre, elle ne cessait de
l'importuner, pour ainsi dire, de ses cris; son cœur trop plein débordait en
ces amoureuses plaintes, C'est ce même auteur pieux qui nous les a transmises;
nous les traduirons dans toute leur naïve et aimable simplicité: « Eh quoi!
vous plaît-il donc, ô mon Roi, que votre petite servante brûle et se consume
toujours ainsi en d'inefficaces désirs? Pardonnez à ma hardiesse, Seigneur;
mais je ne vois pas pourquoi, seule, je suis ainsi rejetée de vous? pourquoi,
seule, privée de vous presser sur mes lèvres? pourquoi seule enfin, toujours
éloignée de votre banquet nuptial! On me dit que je suis une enfant, que je
suis trop petite; mais n'avez-vous pas dit à vos Apôtres: « Laissez venir à «
moi les petits enfants et ne les empêchez pas d'approcher de moi? » Que je suis
trop petite! Mais est-ce bien là une raison? C'est donc en vain que vous vous
êtes fait petit vous-même, si leur âge vous est un motif pour vous refuser aux
enfants comme moi, même quand ils vous aiment et vous désirent tant! On me dit
encore ce que vous répondîtes autrefois à l'un de vos plus aimants serviteurs:
« Croîs, et tu me mangeras(4)! Mais, Seigneur, je sais aussi ce que vous
répondit la pauvre Cananéenne, que les petits chiens se nourrissent des miettes
de pain qui tombent de la table de leur maître. Eh bien! quoique très indigne,
n'obtiendrai-je pas comme eux, Seigneur, une miette de votre table somptueuse
et royale? Une miette, une seule miette de votre Pain sacré suffirait à votre
petite esclave pour rassasier la faim qui la dévore. Accordez-la-moi, Seigneur!
Accordez-la-moi, ô le Roi de mon âme, ou bien... vous le voyez, je dépéris, je
me meurs! Vous eûtes pitié de la foule qui vous suivait, et elle ne vous avait
suivi que trois jours cependant, vous ne voulûtes pas la laisser partir
affamée, de peur qu'elle ne tombât en défaillance le long du chemin; vous fîtes
un nouveau miracle pour la rassasier; et vous n'auriez pas pitié, Seigneur, de
cette pauvre enfant qui est à vous, à vous tout entière et sans réserve; elle
qui depuis tant d'années court après vous, soupirant et se mourant du désir de
s'asseoir à votre banquet sacré? Vous répandez vos biens à profusion sur toute
créature; toutes attendent de vous leur nourriture, et vous la leur donnez à
propos; vous ouvrez vos mains, et tous les êtres sont inondés de vos bienfaits:
même aux petits des corbeaux vous donnez leur pâture; et moi, vous me
laisseriez mourir de faim!.. Non, cela n'est pas possible; cela répugne à votre
bonté. Non, vous avez promis d'accorder tout à la foi et à la persévérance,
vous ne me refuserez pas aujourd'hui. Ou donnez-moi de ce Pain dont mon âme est
affamée, ou bien laissez-moi mourir enfin; car j'ai hâte d'être unie à vous, et
si ce n'est dans l'Eucharistie, que ce soit au moins dans la mort! Venez donc,
venez donc, ô Jésus! ou donnez-moi les ailes de la colombe, que je m'envole et
que j'aille enfin me reposer en vous! »
Ainsi gémissait la jeune
vierge. Elle demandait l'une ou l'autre de ces grâces, elle les obtint toutes
deux. Comme elle pleurait et priait encore, tout à coup, est-ce un rêve? une
hostie miraculeuse se détache du saint ciboire, traverse la grille du chœur,
et, voltigeant en l'air, s'arrête au niveau de son front. Les religieuses,
émues d'un tel spectacle, n'osent d'abord en croire leurs yeux; mais l'illusion
bientôt n'est plus possible: le miracle persévère; une clarté subite se répand
dans l'église, accompagnée d'une suave odeur; et comme une main invisible et
puissante retient le Pain mystique suspendu devant la jeune enfant. Triomphante
et timide à la fois, elle demeure partagée entre la joie de se sentir si près
de Celui qu'elle aime et la douleur de ne pouvoir s'unir à Lui. On eût dit un
ange en adoration plutôt qu'une simple mortelle. Son confesseur, averti de ce
prodige, accourt, et voyant dans ce fait une manifestation non équivoque de la
volonté divine, recueille respectueusement la sainte Hostie sur une patène et
en communie la trop heureuse enfant...
III
Enfin ses vœux sont
accomplis! et, comme si elle n'eût pu dans un corps mortel supporter une telle
joie, elle s'affaisse sur elle-même, abîmée dans une contemplation profonde :
ainsi la fleur s'incline sous les gouttes de la rosée du ciel, trop frêle pour
en soutenir le poids. Les mains toujours croisées sur la poitrine, les yeux
doucement fermés, Imelda paraissait livrée à un délicieux sommeil. Comme les
heures devaient s'écouler rapides dans cette extase de l'amour! A voir ses
lèvres mi-closes, décolorées, mais éclairées d'un sourire tout céleste et comme
agitées d'un frémissement léger, on eût cru les entendre murmurer ces paroles
du Cantique: « Mon Bien-Aimé est à moi, et je suis à Lui! Il m'a introduite
dans ses celliers, il m'a enivrée de son amour... J'ai trouvé Celui que mon
cœur aime; je l'ai trouvé, je le tiens, et ne le laisserai pas aller! »
Longtemps ses sœurs l'admirèrent en silence. Elles ne se lassaient pas de la
regarder, de la voir, de la voir encore, ni de louer Dieu au fond de leur cœur,
parce qu'il est bon, et que sa miséricorde s'étend à tous les siècles.
Toutefois l'office achevé, la voyant toujours immobile et prosternée, elles ne
peuvent se défendre d'une vague inquiétude. On l'appelle; on la prie, on la
supplie, on lui commande de se relever; elle, toujours si prompte en
obéissance, cette fois n'obéit pas; elle n'a pas entendu...; on la touche, elle
n'a pas senti...; on la relève..., elle était morte!....
Morte! Morte à douze
ans!.. Morte d'amour, et d'amour pour son Dieu! au jour et à l'heure de sa
première communion! O l'heureuse mort! Trop heureuse enfant! ) Avec des sens
moins imparfaits et 'moins grossiers que les nôtres, on eût pu voir son âme,
comme une légère vapeur, s'élever dans les airs à la suite du Sauveur, en ce
jour de son Ascension glorieuse, et les Anges auxquels elle allait être à jamais
réunie, accourir sur ses pas et, fêtant sa bienvenue, chanter comme autrefois à
l'Assomption de leur Reine: « Quelle est celle-là qui s'élève à travers le
désert comme un nuage d'encens? Elle s'avance comme l'aurore à son lever, belle
et douce comme l'astre des nuits, radieuse comme le soleil... Quelle est
celle-là qui s'élève ainsi du désert, tout environnée de délices, et appuyée
sur son Bien-Aimé ?.. — C'est notre petite sœur, disaient les Anges (5). Venez,
petite enfant, chère au cœur de Jésus, pure comme la colombe, douce comme le
miel, quasi mel data, Imelda, petite sœur, venez! venez recevoir la couronne
qui? vous est préparée! »
Comme Marie, elle avait
rendu son dernier soupir dans un suprême élan d'amour. La charité, comme la
mort, a ses victimes. L'amour est fort comme la mort. Oh! comment pouvons-nous
si souvent recevoir Jésus dans nos cœurs et ne pas mourir! En 1566, les
Dominicaines quittèrent leur couvent de Valdipietra pour s'établir à Bologne
même. C'est dans leur église que reposent aujourd'hui les restes précieux de la
bienheureuse Imelda Lambertini. Un des descendants de cette illustre famille,
le cardinal Lambertini, depuis pape sous le nom de Benoît XIV, restaura et
embellit de ses propres deniers l'église de nos Dominicaines de Bologne, alors
qu'il occupait le siège archiépiscopal de cette ville; il y fit élever une
chapelle et un autel en l'honneur de notre jeune sainte, sa parente; d'autres
membres de sa famille, pour honorer sa mémoire, firent graver en 1591, sur la
pierre de son sépulcre, le trait miraculeux qui termina sa vie et que nous
venons de raconter.
Petite Sœur Imelda, priez
pour nous!
Notes
(1) Sur l'examen des
pièces du procès de béatification, le pape Léon XII, après avoir consulté la
Sacrée Congrégation des Rites, a approuvé son culte et autorisé l'ordre des
Frères-Prêcheurs à réciter son office et à célébrer la sainte messe en C son
honneur. Sa fête a été fixée au 46 septembre.
(2) Il semble que Dieu
l'ait prédestinée dès le berceau à cette vie toute d'amour. Madeleine fut son
premier nom, celui qui lui fut donné au baptême et le seul sous lequel elle fut
connue avant son entrée en religion. Dans le cloître on l'a nommée Imelda, sans
doute à cause de sa douceur et de son extrême amabilité: Imelda, c'est-à-dire
donnée au monde comme du miel, quasi mel data, ? suivant l'étymologie d'un
pieux et savant religieux Ç f du Carmel, un de ses plus ardents dévots.
(3) Un de nos Pères
espagnols, du couvent de Bénavarre (Aragon), auteur d'un « Abrégé de la Vie
très-prodigieuse de la Bienheureuse Imelda de Lambertini, Vierge de l'Ordre de
Saint-Dominique ».
(4) Cresce, et manducabis
me. (Saint Augustin, Confessions.)
(5) Soror nostra parva.
(Cant. C, vin, 8.)
SOURCE, et Neuvaine à la
Bienheureuse Imelda Lambertini : http://imagessaintes.canalblog.com/archives/2011/08/04/21734081.html
Sainte Imelda entre au couvent
dominicain
La communion d’Imalda
Auteur : Daniel-Rops | Ouvrage
: Légende
dorée de mes filleuls .
— Imalda ! Imalda !
La mère de l’enfant, qui l’appelait, se dirigea sans
hésiter vers le fond du jardin. Quand on ne voyait pas la fillette, on pouvait
être sûr qu’elle était là, dans ce coin tranquille où l’on n’entendait que le
souffle du vent sur la cime des cyprès et le gazouillement de la fontaine.
Contre le mur se dressait un petit oratoire, fait tout simplement d’un toit en
auvent, abritant une fresque : cette peinture représentait une Sainte
Vierge tenant l’Enfant Jésus sur ses genoux, comme en avait tant peint le
meilleur artiste de la ville, celui qu’on appelait « Vital des
Madones », une Sainte Vierge d’une merveilleuse douceur. Imalda aimait
cette belle image. De longues heures, bien qu’elle eût seulement neuf ans, elle
demeurait agenouillée sur les dalles de l’allée, priant, méditant, récitant les
Psaumes qu’elle savait par cœur comme un moine ou une religieuse. Et ses
parents s’en étonnaient.
Son père, le comte Lambertini, un des plus riches
seigneurs de la ville, plus accoutumé, comme beaucoup d’hommes de son temps, à
faire des affaires et à se battre qu’à prier humblement le Seigneur, trouvait
exagérée cette piété. « Va-t-elle donc se faire nonne ? » criait-il
quand il apprenait que sa fille était encore à genoux devant la Madone du
jardin. Mais sa femme, émerveillée de trouver dans son enfant cette âme si pure
et si chrétienne, lui répondait qu’elle ne pouvait certainement souhaiter mieux
que de voir sa petite continuer à grandir dans l’amour du Christ.
— Qu’avons-nous à lui reprocher ? Jamais une
désobéissance, jamais un mensonge, jamais un mouvement de mauvaise humeur. Nous
avons peut-être donné le jour à une petite Sainte. Laissons-la répondre à la
voix qui l’appelle…
Et l’amabilité, la gentillesse de cette enfant étaient
si exemplaires que, dans toute la famille, on lui avait changé son nom de
Madeleine en celui d’Imalda, qui voulait dire : « aussi douce que
le miel ».
* * *
Cela se passait dans la ville de Bologne, au début du
XIVe siècle, vers l’année 1330. A cette époque, l’Italie toute entière
était dans une très douloureuse situation. Depuis déjà longtemps, les guerres
civiles succédaient aux guerres étrangères, les unes et les autres faisant
beaucoup de mal au pays. Le Pape et l’Empereur ne s’entendaient pas ;
leurs partisans se livraient des combats terribles, où des villages flambaient,
des villes étaient assiégées, prises et pillées. Très peu de temps avant,
Bologne avait été ainsi champ de bataille et avait énormément souffert. Ce
n’était pas encore assez ! Dans la cité même les clans s’opposaient aux
clans. On luttait famille contre famille, et chaque maison seigneuriale se
transformait en véritable forteresse, capable de supporter des sièges :
certaines avaient même dressé de très hautes tours, — l’une n’avait pas moins
de cent mètres, — semblables à des donjons, pour y installer leurs guetteurs et
leurs soldats ; deux de ces tours se voient encore. Douloureuse
situation, et dont une petite fille sensible se rendait parfaitement compte.
D’ailleurs, tant de choses étaient tristes en cette
époque ! Ne disait-on pas que le Pape avait été obligé de fuir Rome où sa
personne sacrée n’était plus en sûreté, et qu’il s’était réfugié, bien loin de
là, au royaume de France, dans une ville nommée Avignon où il construisait un
grand palais : preuve qu’il voulait y demeurer bien longtemps. Dans
l’Église entière, cette absence du Saint Père hors de la Ville Éternelle était
considérée comme un mauvais présage : depuis treize siècles, depuis que
saint Pierre est mort martyr dans le cirque de Néron, au Vatican, est-ce
que les Papes n’ont pas toujours résidé non loin de son tombeau ?
Qu’allait-il arriver maintenant que le Siège romain était vide ?…
C’était pour tout cela que la petite Imalda priait
tant. Elle demandait au Seigneur de ramener la paix parmi les hommes, de les
rendre moins violents, moins attachés à l’argent, moins brutaux et de protéger
sa Sainte Église contre tous ses ennemis… Heureusement qu’en Italie, il y avait
encore de vrais chrétiens ! Au siècle précédent, n’avait-on pas connu deux
saints exceptionnels, dont tout le monde parlait encore ? Saint François,
celui qu’on surnommait « le petit pauvre d’Assise », qui, après avoir
été, dans son adolescence, un garçon ardent et prompt aux combats, comme tant
d’autres, avait d’un seul coup jeté ses armes, renoncé à toute la fortune de
son père, et s’était consacré à Dieu, pour vivre dans la sainte pauvreté. Il
n’était guère lieu d’Italie où l’on ne racontât les merveilles de sa vie, et
comment il avait apprivoisé un loup furieux, et comment il parlait aux oiseaux
du ciel, où l’on ne chantât aussi les cantiques si simples et si sublimes qu’il
avait composés.
Et l’autre saint, dont la gloire devenait immense,
était saint Dominique, l’éloquent Espagnol installé en Italie, dont on
rapportait qu’au jour de sa naissance une étoile avait brillé sur son front.
Par sa parole, par son action, il avait mené des luttes acharnées contre les
hérétiques dont les doctrines étaient contraires à la vraie foi. Il avait été
le fondateur de ces « Frères Prêcheurs », de ces
« Dominicains » vêtus d’une robe blanche et d’un grand manteau noir,
dont les sermons faisaient courir les foules aux églises. Or c’était justement
à Bologne que le grand saint avait son tombeau, un tombeau de marbre où l’on
voyait les scènes principales de sa vie, sculptées par un très grand artiste,
Nicolo Pisano. Bien souvent Imalda était allée prier dans la basilique
Saint-Dominique, auprès du monument funéraire. Bien souvent elle avait demandé
au Saint de l’accepter dans l’immense famille de ceux qui voulaient suivre son
exemple, parmi les religieuses blanches qu’elle avait vues, dans leur couvent,
si heureuses de prier Dieu toute la journée, et la nuit même, de le prier pour
les pauvres hommes afin qu’ils deviennent un peu meilleurs.
***
— Imalda ! Imalda !
La chère voix de la fillette ne répondit pas. Un peu
inquiète, la mère courut le long des allées, vers le fond du jardin, pensant
que, selon son habitude, l’enfant se trouvait à genoux devant la Madone et que,
sans doute, elle était si absorbée par sa prière qu’elle n’entendait même pas
les cris d’appel. Mais, surprise, elle constata que la place était vide… La
petite forme ne s’apercevait pas comme d’ordinaire, entre les trois fuseaux
élancés des cyprès : simplement, sur le petit rebord de l’oratoire, sous
la fresque de la Sainte Vierge, une rosé rouge était posée,
fraîchement coupée. A quoi la mère comprit qu’Imalda était venue là mais
n’était point restée.
Où pouvait-elle bien être ? Jamais elle ne
sortait dans la ville sans être accompagnée d’une servante, et surtout jamais
sans en avoir demandé la permission. Le gardien de la porte ne l’avait pas vu
passer. Et le père qui n’était pas là, en train — une fois de plus — de se
battre, avec ses hommes, dans la plaine du côté de Padoue ou de Venise !
Mais, peu après, deux religieuses vinrent heurter le
marteau du lourd vantail blindé de fer forgé. Elles portaient la robe blanche
et le manteau noir des filles de saint Dominique. Ce matin même, dirent-elles,
tandis qu’elles sortaient de la chapelle, elles avaient entendu frapper à
petits coups à la porte du couvent. Imalda était sur le seuil, si menue, si
fragile… Mais quand on lui avait demandé pourquoi elle se trouvait là, elle
avait répondu d’une voix si ferme et décidée que Madame la Prieure n’avait pas
osé la renvoyer. Pour que cette petite fille fût venue, toute seule, demander à
entrer au couvent, ne fallait-il pas que le Seigneur lui-même l’eût
guidée ? La mère hésitait ; qu’allait dire son mari, en rentrant de
ses batailles ? Bien sûr, sa colère serait grande : sa fille unique,
religieuse ! Mais elle savait, elle, que l’âme de sa petite sainte, depuis
longtemps déjà, appartenait au Christ, et elle accepta.
* * *
Ce fut ainsi qu’Imalda, à peine âgée de neuf ans,
devint religieuse dominicaine. Bien vite elle fut la joie et l’exemple du
couvent. La Prieure aurait voulu qu’elle restât à dormir la nuit au lieu de se
lever pour chanter les offices, mais quand la communauté s’en allait, par les
couloirs obscurs, puis le long du cloître, en silencieuse file, vers la
chapelle, on voyait une petite silhouette, si minuscule, qui se glissait
avec les autres, et, quand le chant des psaumes commençait, on distinguait sa
voix cristalline s’élevant au-dessus de toutes. Elle qui avait connu dans la
maison de ses parents l’éclat des richesses, et tout le luxe et tout le confort
possibles, elle vivait désormais dans une cellule nue, où il n’y avait qu’un
méchant lit de planches à paillasse, une table et une chaise, et, sur le mur,
un crucifix fait de deux bâtons croisés. Magnifique exemple, et dont toute la
communauté était dans l’émerveillement.
Cependant, à certains moments, les religieuses
observaient une sorte de tristesse sur les traits de leur petite compagne.
C’était au sortir de la messe, lorsque toutes venaient à la Sainte Communion et
qu’Imalda, à cause de son jeune âge, n’avait pas pu y participer. Les enfants
de notre temps ne peuvent pas bien comprendre cela, car ils ont la chance, tout
petits, de recevoir la Sainte Hostie. Au temps où vivait Imalda, il
fallait avoir quatorze ans pour y être admis. Et c’était de cela que la jeune
religieuse se désolait.
Communier ! Nul mieux qu’elle ne comprenait ce
que cela signifie de joie, de bonheur surnaturel ! Nul mieux qu’elle ne
devinait les trésors que l’âme acquiert à l’instant même où le petit disque de
pain est posé dans la bouche et que le cœur tressaille à la seule idée de
porter en soi la chair du Seigneur Bien souvent, durant ses longues prières,
Imalda avait rêvé de ce moment où Jésus lui-même lui serait accordé, où elle
posséderait, au plus profond d’elle, le Sauveur du Monde, Dieu, celui qui a
tant aimé les hommes qu’il a voulu se donner à eux. Viendrait-il, ce
moment ? Ah, comme elle en avait hâte ! Et la tristesse qui se
peignait parfois sur son doux visage n’avait pas d’autre cause : quand
elle voyait les autres revenir de la Sainte Table, les yeux baissés, dans
un magnifique recueillement, Imalda ne pouvait pas retenir ses larmes.
Mais Jésus, qui sait lire dans le secret des âmes,
avait décidé que, pour elle, la date obligatoire de la quatorzième année serait
avancée miraculeusement…
* * *
Le jour de l’Ascension, le 12 mai 1333, comme tous les ans, se
célébrait au couvent de Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, chez les religieuses de
Saint-Dominique, la belle cérémonie de la première communion. Venues de
tous les quartiers de la ville, maintes fillettes de quatorze ans, habillées un
peu comme des mariées, arrivaient, dès le matin, portant toutes de grandes
brassées de lys qu’elles allaient, en entrant, déposer devant l’autel de la
Sainte Vierge. Et la messe commença.
Dans sa stalle du chœur des novices, en robe de bure
blanche, Imalda regardait. Elle regardait toutes ces jeunes filles qui
s’apprêtaient à recevoir le corps du Christ ; comprenaient-elles ce
qu’elles étaient sur le point de faire ? avaient-elles assez la certitude
que l’événement qui allait s’accomplir pour elles était d’une importance
capitale ? Elle les regardait… Peut-être certaines ne pensaient-elles qu’à
leur belle robe, au voile de dentelle qui couvrait leurs chevelures bien
coiffées. Et elle, elle, ah comme elle eût désiré se trouver parmi ces formes
blanches ! ah de quel cœur elle eût accueilli Celui que le Prêtre allait
donner à chacune !
Le moment de la communion vint. Deux par deux les
jeunes filles s’approchèrent de l’autel, lentement, pendant que le chœur des
religieuses lançait vers la voûte le plus beau, le plus joyeux des Psaumes.
Mais la voix pure d’Imalda n’était point, pour une fois, mêlée à celle des
autres. Sa tristesse avait été la plus forte. Écroulée à genoux sur les dalles
de la chapelle, la tête dans ses mains, elle pleurait.
Alors… ce fut un spectacle si stupéfiant que, d’un
seul coup, le chœur des religieuses s’arrêta de chanter. Un silence profond
s’abattit sur l’église ; l’assistance toute entière sembla se retenir
presque de respirer. Du Saint Ciboire dans lequel le Prêtre puisait, l’une
après l’autre, les hosties consacrées pour les poser entre les lèvres des
communiantes, une d’elles venait de se détacher. Elle s’était littéralement
envolée, comme si une main invisible la tenait, la main d’un ange peut-être,
l’emportant haut dans les airs. Un court instant on vit l’hostie flotter
au-dessus de l’autel, puis glisser vers le chœur des religieuses, franchir la
grille qui le séparait du reste de l’église… Toute l’assistance la suivait des
yeux, blanche petite tache de lumière, qu’un rayon mystérieux semblait
accompagner.
En voyant l’hostie miraculeuse s’avancer vers elles,
les religieuses furent bouleversées. Les unes tendaient les mains dans sa
direction ; d’autres se laissaient tomber sur le sol, prosternées, pleines
de crainte. Une seule forme, dans les stalles, n’avait pas bougé : la
petite Imalda qui, toujours agenouillée, priait et pleurait sans faire nulle
attention à ce qui se passait autour d’elle. Mais, comme si elle avait su
exactement où elle devait aller, ou toujours portée par la main invisible,
l’hostie s’immobilisa. A quelque vingt centimètres au-dessus du front de
l’enfant, elle demeura suspendue en l’air, et au moment où elle s’arrêta ainsi,
une lumière surnaturelle jaillit d’elle, éclaira toute cette partie du chœur,
qui était fort sombre, en même temps qu’une odeur suave se répandait.
Personne n’osait bouger. Personne n’osait surtout
toucher la petite sainte qui, plongée dans une extase, ne faisait plus aucun
mouvement. Mais le miracle durait. Des
minutes passaient : l’hostie était toujours là, entre ciel et terre,
visiblement décidée à désigner la petite forme agenouillée. La Prieure enfin
fit un signe. Le prêtre qui, à l’autel lui aussi frappé de stupeur, considérait
la scène, immobile, prit une patène, — cette sorte de petit plateau d’or ou
d’argent sur lequel on pose les hosties, — et il s’approcha. Docile, l’hostie
du miracle se laissa saisir et placer sur la patène. A ce moment, Imalda releva
la tête. Elle avait les yeux clos, les lèvres entr’ouvertes, comme si elle
allait recevoir la Sainte Communion. Le prêtre comprit et obéit à l’ordre
silencieux… Il fit communier la trop heureuse enfant.
* * *
Ce fut alors, dans l’église entière, un instant de
joie sans pareille, d’exultation. Le chœur des religieuses entonna avec ferveur
le plus beau des chants de gratitude, celui du « Magnificat » :
« Elle glorifie le Seigneur, mon âme, et mon esprit tressaille de joie en
Dieu, mon Sauveur, parce qu’il a jeté les yeux sur la plus humble de ses
servantes. Ah, comme je suis contente, moi que les hommes nommeront
bienheureuse… »
Seule, Imalda ne semblait point participer du tout à
cette joie. Elle avait de nouveau baissé la tête et paraissait profondément
absorbée dans ses actions de grâces. Nul ne voyait son visage ; elle ne
faisait aucun mouvement. Certainement, pensa-t-on, elle est encore perdue dans
son extase ; elle vit en ce moment la plus belle heure de sa vie ;
elle a le Christ en elle, et par un miracle à nul autre semblable… Mais les
minutes passaient, puis les quarts d’heure. Une sourde inquiétude commençait, à
peser sur l’assistance. La Prieure alors se leva de sa place, traversa le
chœur, s’approcha de la petite sainte prosternée. Elle la toucha. Imalda
ne bougea pas. Deux religieuses, croyant peut-être à un malaise, lui
relevèrent la tête. Et la tête retomba et l’enfant s’affaissa entre
leurs bras.
Imalda, la miraculée de l’Hostie, était morte. Celui à
qui elle avait tant voulu appartenir l’avait prise avec lui pour toujours. Et
sur les traits de la petite morte se lisait une joie qui n’appartenait plus à
la terre, une céleste félicité.
Daniel-Rops.
SOURCE : https://www.maintenantunehistoire.fr/la-communion-dimalda/
Profile
Daughter of Count Egano
Lambertini of Bologna and
Castora Galuzzi. While still a child,
she put together a little oratory in
her house, and spent much time there in prayer.
She felt drawn to religious life,
and planned to become a nun. Student at Dominican Convent of
Valdi-Pietra in Bologna, Italy,
partly in preparation for religious life.
Had a great devotion to Saint Agnes
of Rome, of whom she may have had visions,
to Mary as
Queen of Angels, and to the Holy
Eucharist. On 12 May 1333 she miraculously received
her First
Communion, and immediately after died in
an ecstasy of
love and joy.
Born
Feast of
the Ascension, 12 May 1333 Bologna, Italy
relics at
the Church of Saint Sigismund in Bologna
20
December 1826 by Pope Leo
XII (cultus
confirmed)
first
communicants (named by Pope Saint Pius
X)
–
in Italy
very young Dominican novice kneeling
before the altar with
a sacred Host appearing above her
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Stories
of Holy Lives, by M.F.S.
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian
Catholic Truth Society
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
nettsteder
i norsk
Readings
Can anyone receive Jesus
into his heart and not die? – Blessed Imelda
Lord Jesus Christ, you
received into heaven Blessed Imelda
who loved you in the eucharistic banquet. By her prayers may
we learn to approach your holy table with that same fervent love and so fulfill
our longing to be with you, who live and reign with the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – General Calendar of the Order of
Preachers
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Imelda
Lambertini“. CatholicSaints.Info. 13 May 2024. Web. 3 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-imelda-lambertini/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-imelda-lambertini/
Article
(Blessed) Virgin (May 12)
(14th century) An Italian Saint of the Order of Saint Dominic in the Convent of
which Order at Bologna she was a pupil. Though quite a child, she by her
fervour and innocence, merited high favours from Almighty God, and among others
that of a miraculous First Communion. She died A.D. 1333, being then only
thirteen years old.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Imelda”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
14 May 2016. Web. 3 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-imelda/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-imelda/
Blessed Imelda
Lambertini, OP V (AC)
Born in Bologna, Italy, in 1322; died there on the Feast of the Ascension, May
13, 1333; cultus confirmed in 1826; named patron of first communicants by Pope
Pius X.
One of the most charming legends in Dominican hagiography is that of little
Imelda, who died of love on her first Communion day, and who is, by this happy
circumstance, patroness of all first communicants.
Tradition says that Imelda was the daughter of Count Egano Lambertini of
Bologna. Her family was famous for its many religious, including a Dominican
preacher, a Franciscan mother foundress, and an aunt of Imelda's who had
founded a convent of strict observance in Bologna.
Imelda was a delicate child, petted and favored by her family, and it was no
surprise that she should be religious by nature. She learned to read from the
Psalter, and early devoted herself to attending Mass and Compline at the
Dominican church. Her mother taught her to sew and cook for the poor, and went
with her on errands of charity. When Imelda was nine, she asked to be allowed
to go to the Dominicans at Val di Pietra. She was the only child of a couple
old enough not to hope for any more children; it was a wrench to let her go.
However, they took her to the convent and gave her to God with willing, if
sorrowing, hearts.
Imelda's status in the convent is hard to discern. She wore the habit, followed
the exercises of the house as much as she was allowed to, and longed for the
day when she would be old enough to join them in the two things she envied
most--the midnight Office and the reception of Holy Eucharist. Her age barred
her from both. She picked up the Divine Office from hearing the sisters chant,
and meditated as well as she could.
It was a lonely life for the little girl of nine, and, like many another lonely
child, she imagined playmates for herself--with this one difference--her
playmates were saints. She was especially fond of Saint Agnes, the martyr, who
was little older than Imelda herself. Often she read about her from the large
illuminated books in the library, and one day Agnes came in a vision to see
her. Imelda was delighted. Shut away from participation in adult devotions, she
had found a contemporary who could tell her about the things she most wanted to
know. Agnes came often after this, and they talked of heavenly things.
Her first Christmas in the convent brought only sorrow to Imelda. She had been
hoping that the sisters would relent and allow her to receive Communion with
them, but on the great day, when everyone except her could go receive Jesus in
the Eucharist, Imelda remained in her place, gazing through tears at the waxen
figure in the creche. Imelda began to pray even more earnestly that she might
receive Communion.
When her prayer was answered, spring had come to Bologna, and the world was preparing
for the Feast of the Ascension. No one paid much attention to the little girl
as she knelt in prayer while the sisters prepared for the Mass. Even when she
asked to remain in the chapel in vigil on the eve of the feast, it caused no
comment; she was a devout child. The sisters did not know how insistently she
was knocking at heaven's gate, reciting to herself, for assurance, the prayer
that appeared in the Communion verse for the Rogation Days: "Ask and it
shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to
you."
The door was opened for Imelda on the morning of the Vigil of the Ascension.
She had asked once more for the great privilege of receiving Communion, and,
because of her persistence, the chaplain was called in on the case. He refused
flatly; Imelda must wait until she was older. She went to her place in the
chapel, giving no outward sign that she intended to take heaven by storm, and
watched quietly enough while the other sister went to Communion.
After Mass, Imelda remained in her place in the choir. The sacristan busied
herself putting out candles and removing the Mass vestments. A sound caused her
to turn and look into the choir, and she saw a brilliant light shining above
Imelda's head, and a Host suspended in the light. The sacristan hurried to get
the chaplain.
The chaplain now had no choice; God had indicated that He wanted to be
communicated to Imelda. Reverently, the chaplain took the Host and gave it to
the rapt child, who knelt like a shining statue, unconscious of the nuns
crowding into the chapel, or the laypeople pushing against the chapel grille to
see what might be happening there.
After an interval for thanksgiving, the prioress went to call the little novice
for breakfast. She found her still kneeling. There was a smile on her face, but
she was dead.
The legend of Blessed Imelda is firmly entrenched in Dominican hearts, though
it is difficult now to find records to substantiate it. She may have been
eleven, rather than ten when she died. The convent where she lived has been
gone for centuries and its records with it.
Several miracles have been worked through her intercession, and her cause for
canonization has been under consideration for many years. As recently as 1928 a
major cure was reported of a Spanish sister who was dying of meningitis. Other
miracles are under consideration. The day may yet come when the lovable little
patroness of first communicants can be enrolled in the calendar of the saints
(Benedictines, Dominicans, Dorcy).
In art, Imelda is a very
young Dominican novice, kneeling before the altar with a sacred Host appearing
above her. She is venerated at Bologna and Valdipietra (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0512.shtml
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans – 16 September
At the age of ten Imelda
entered a convent of
the Order at Bologna,
as a pupil. Soon, however, she petitioned for and obtained the habit; and
thenceforth surpassed in virtue, especially in simplicity and obedience, even
the oldest Sisters. The chaplain thought her too young to make her first
Communion, and the poor child was consumed by her ardent desires. But who can
oppose God when He wills to favor a pure soul? On Ascension Day whilst all the
Sisters approached the Holy Table to receive their Saviour, Imelda alone,
through obedience, remained away; but her sighs and prayers drew God to her. To
the amazement of all a Host appeared over her head; the priest, understanding*
the Divine Will came forward to receive It and communicated the little maiden.
Imelda could not contain her happiness: her eyes closed, her heart ceased to
beat: she died of love (1333).
The celebrated Prosper Lambertini, who became Pope under
the name of Benedict
XIV, a member of the same family, labored to propagate devotion to her. A
Confraternity for First Communicants has been established in our days under her
patronage; many indulgences have been granted to it by the Holy See, and Heaven
has blessed it with rich fruits of grace.
Prayer
O Jesus! how often have I
eaten the Bread of Angels without hunger or desire! (Blessed Henry Suso)
Practice
See whether your desire
for Holy Communion is purely divine, or has anything human in it. You may
discover this by the care you take in preparing for this august Sacrament, and
the manner in which your preserve its fruits.
– taken from the
book Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-saintly-dominicans-16-september/
Stories of
Holy Lives – Blessed Imelda
Article
Our dear Lord, when upon
earth, called little children to come close to Him, He put His hands on them
and blessed them, saying, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven;” and since then
there have been many of tender age who have been drawn to Jesus by His sweet words
of love, and have followed Him faithfully all their lives, until He took them
to bloom like pure sweet flowers in the heavenly garden, where He keeps them
safe for ever.
One of these children was
Imelda Lambertini, whose home was in the city of Bologna, and though it is so
many years since she lived and died, she is not forgotten, but is considered to
be the special patroness of all first communicants.
As a young baby, her
tears could always be dried by hearing the Name of Jesus or of Mary, and when she
could speak she loved to lisp little prayers and repeat words from the Psalms,
which were taught her by her mother in a small oratory which she had begged for
her own use.
Some of those who have
written the short – history of little Imelda have thought that she died as
early as the age of seven, but those accounts which are generally said to be
most correct tell us that she was several years older before our Lord called
her away from this world. So at ten years old we find that this pious little
girl had a great wish to be placed in some religious house, where she might be
near Jesus, be taught about Jesus, and prepare to belong to Jesus entirely when
she grew old enough; and her parents very willingly granted her desire, and
asked the Dominican nuns at the convent of Saint Mary Magdalen, in Valdepietra,
near Bologna, to receive Imelda. In those times it was a common thing to allow
children who were preparing to become Religious, or who had that wish in their
hearts, to put on a habit similar to that worn in the convent by the nuns, so
Imelda was given her little white habit and scapular; and as she looked at it,
it always seemed to remind her to get herself ready to make solemn promises to
be a spouse of Christ when she was older.
The little girl was very faithful
to the rule she had to keep. We hear that she was never careless or indifferent
about the smallest things which were required of her, and she had also a great
desire to practise penance whenever she was permitted. Her great love was
always for the Blessed Sacrament. Before It she was never weary, and every
moment which was free she spent in prayer, kneeling so still that her whole
heart seemed away from the world and all around her, wholly fixed upon Jesus
her Lord and her King. This great deep love for the Blessed Sacrament caused
Imelda to bum with desire to receive It in her heart, and when others knelt
round the altar, tears filled her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks as she
murmured, “When, ah when will He come also to me?” The nuns knew of the longing
of the child’s heart; they knew, too, her purity and piety, which seemed to
make her fit to be a little temple wherein God might dwell; and yet in that
country First Communion was fixed for the age of fourteen years, and they could
do nothing to help Imelda, only bid her love on and pray while she waited. The
little girl tried to bear the pain this caused her. At holy Mass she thought of
the sufferings of Jesus, and begged Him to help her to bear to be kept away
from receiving Him in the Blessed Sacrament; yet the longing God had implanted
could not be kept down, and as the nuns and the other older children rose and
knelt for Holy Communion, Imelda felt as if her heart must break with sorrow
and with love. Thus time went on until Ascension Day, in the year 1338. The
child was twelve years old only, and still she must pray and wait. It seemed
that morning as if she could bear no more such suffering. With her small hands
pressed tightly together under her little scapular, she bent her head down upon
her breast and prayed, “Oh, sweet Jesus, Thou didst call children to Thee when
on earth, Thou didst not turn them from Thee! Let me come. I love Thee so! I
long for Thee so! Why, oh, why must I wait?”
No one there knew how the
child prayed, how much she suffered, but God in heaven looked down and saw it
all, and He would not delay His answer to such fervent prayers.
There were children going
to the altar for the first time that day, and one by one they left their places
with soft hushed steps, and, kneeling, waited for the coming of Jesus.
Far down the church knelt
Imelda, her head bent low, to hide her streaming tears. The priest, turning,
lifted up the Sacred Host, saying, “Ecce Agnus Dei. Behold the Lamb of God.
Behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world;” and even as he spoke a
bright golden gleam shot from the Blessed Sacrament, and passing down the
church as a ray of light, rested upon the head of the little sorrowing, loving
Imelda. Every one gazed with wonder. Then, with greater awe and greater wonder,
the priest saw that the Sacred Host had left his hand, and shone like a star in
the centre of the golden brightness which gleamed around the child. Her eyes
were raised to look at the lovely star, she knew it was Jesus who had heard her
cry, and had come in answer to her prayers.
The priest left the altar
– the kneeling children made way for him, hushed and almost frightened at a
thing so strange, and following the ray of light, he came to Imelda, and with
trembling hands gave her the Blessed Sacrament, which was as a star above her
head. The Communion was given, the Mass ended; many were leaving the church, and
yet Imelda knelt on, and the nuns thought that it was not strange to see her
thus rapt in prayer and thanksgiving. They let her be for a while, until her
excessive pallor made them afraid she was fainting, and they sought to rouse
her. In vain – the usually obedient Imelda heeded neither entreaties nor
commands, but remained still upon her knees, with bowed head, and hands clasped
above the little breast which held her Jesus. Then the good sisters were still
more anxious and afraid, and they lifted her from the place. Ah, the gentle
little girl was dead! Like Mary her mother, she had died from love, and her
happy soul was with Jesus for ever.
In the year 1566, the
Dominican nuns left the convent of Valdepietra, to establish another in
Bologna, and to their church the remains of Blessed Imelda were removed. In the
time of Pope Benedict XIV, one of her descendants, Cardinal Lambertini,
embellished the grave where she was buried, and others of her family, in the
year 1591, caused the miracle which closed her sweet short life to be engraved
upon the stone above her sacred relics. And now in the present time many
children in our own country have learned to know and love little Imelda. Like
the little girls of Bologna, they choose her as their patroness, and pray that
she will ask for them some of that love which burned so brightly in her heart,
and especially should she be invoked by those who are preparing to receive our
Lord in Holy Communion. We may not wish, like Imelda, to die in that moment of
joy when Jesus first rests within our hearts – rarely indeed would God choose
out a child for so great a proof of His Divine favour – but we must wish, if wo
cannot die for our most dear Lord, that we may live for Him, that our hearts
may glow with love and longing to receive Him there, and that He may dwell
within us always, never, never to be driven out by coldness or by sin.
MLA
Citation
M.F.S. “Blessed
Imelda”. Stories of Holy Lives. CatholicSaints.Info.
5 May 2022. Web. 3 April 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/stories-of-holy-lives-blessed-imelda/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/stories-of-holy-lives-blessed-imelda/
Blessed Imelda Lambertini
Does it seem strange, at a time when we are called to the weighty task of being
“intensely Eucharistic,” that Dominicans should look back almost seven
centuries to consider the example of a nine year old little girl? Not so
strange, really; in fact, not at all! For wasn’t it Jesus Himself who loved to
hold children up as the best example of what He was trying to teach us all to
become?
And thus we aren’t embarrassed to consult a little girl in our Dominican family
tree and seek from her the meaning of the call to be “intensely Eucharistic.”
Little Imelda Lambertini wouldn’t have given us a theological treatise on
devotion to the Holy Eucharist. She would simply have told us of Jesus’ love in
the Sacrament, and then suggest that we learn to know Him there, as she did.
Dominican tradition tells us that Imelda Lambertini was born of a noble family
in Bologna, Italy in 1322. Her parents raised her to love her Catholic faith,
and through their influence she developed a love for prayer, especially for the
Mass. Often she would attend Mass and Compline (Night Prayer of the Divine
Office) at a nearby Dominican Church. Her mother also taught Imelda to cook and
sew for the poor and cultivated in her child an eagerness to perform the
corporal works of mercy. Even so, her mother and father, both of whom were
getting on in years, were surprised when Imelda asked permission at the tender
age of nine to go to live with the Dominican nuns at a neighboring monastery.
As difficult a decision as this was, her parents evidently sensed the depth of
their child’s desire and entrusted her spiritual formation to the Dominicans at
Val di Pietra.
At this distance of centuries and culture it is not easy to determine precisely
what little Imelda’s status was at the convent. It seems she was well loved by
the sisters, who allowed her to wear the Dominican habit, to pray with them,
and to follow their way of life to the extent that a little girl would be able to
do while still remaining a child. Imelda, we are told, longed (and intensely,
it seems) to be allowed to receive Holy Communion with the nuns, but in that
day such a thing would have been unheard of for a child her age. Her pleading
was again and again gently refused, with the explanation that she would need to
wait until she was older and more prepared. For a time Imelda had to be content
with this answer, meanwhile learning to chant Office from hearing the nuns in
choir and developing her own interior prayer life in simple childlike ways. The
saints, whose stories she had learned from her parents and from the nuns,
became her “secret companions,” and probably had a hand in nurturing the
longing she felt to receive Jesus intimately in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In her private conversations with Jesus, with whom she was developing a deep
friendship, we can imagine that she made known often her desire to be allowed
to go to Communion. There is no evidence that He put up any opposition to the
proposal—but neither did the sisters relent. And so Imelda continued, with the
intensity of a child, to get to know Jesus more deeply, and to desire Him all
the more.
As spring approached, the sisters, who perhaps thought that they had succeeded
in diverting Imelda’s “childish fancy” to go to Communion with the grown-ups,
were a bit startled when she asked again, shortly before the feast of the
Ascension, to receive her First Holy Communion. (“Asked,” in fact, is not the
word. She begged them insistently, it seems.) When the chaplain was consulted,
he agreed with the sisters and responded with no hesitation that Imelda was
much too young. On the Vigil of the Ascension Imelda was in her place in the
chapel, quietly praying as the sisters received Communion. Then Jesus did a
little “insisting” of His own. After Mass, as one of the nuns was clearing the
altar, she heard a noise and looked up to the choir to see Imelda, a glowing
light shining above her head, with the Sacred Host suspended in the light. The
chaplain was called at once, and he understood that Jesus Himself was making
his desire known. "Let the little children come to Me and do not stop
them." The priest gave Imelda her First Holy Communion.
We can well imagine that the nuns were amazed and thrilled both at the great
blessing to their little one, and to their convent. The prioress allowed Imelda
to remain for some time in thanksgiving, and then sent for her to come and have
her breakfast. Imelda was still kneeling as they had left her, a smile on her
face. Yet when called for, Imelda’s body was still. She had died of pure joy.
Her thanksgiving had been well completed, and she had nothing left to desire.
Bl. Imelda’s story is so well entrenched in the collective memory of her
Dominican brothers and sisters that it has remained firmly in the Order's
history. She continues to offer the witness of a child with mature desires, and
a faith unspoiled in its intensity.
Imelda understood instinctively what many of us have forgotten: that it is the
single-hearted who are blessed and that unless we become like children we
cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven—or be uncomplicated enough to become
“intensely Eucharistic.”
SOURCE : http://nashvilledominican.org/charism/our_dominican_heritage/our_saints_and_blesseds/Bl_Imelda_Lambertini
Bl. Imelda
Feastday: May 13
Patron: of
fervant first communion
The patroness of fervent
first communion, Blessed Imelda, came from one of the oldest families in
Bologna; her father was Count Igano Lambertini and her mother was Castora
Galuzzi. Even as a tiny child she showed unusual piety, taking delight in prayer and slipping off to a
quiet corner of the house, which she adorned with flowers and pictures to make
it a little oratory. When she was nine, she was placed, at her own wish, in the
Dominican convent in
Val di Pietra, to be trained there by the nuns. Her disposition soon endeared
her to all, while the zeal with
which she entered all the religious life of
the house greatly edified the nuns. Her special devotion was to the Eucharistic
presence of Our Lord at Mass and in the
tabernacle. To receive Our Lord in Holy Communion became
the consuming desire of her heart, but the custom of the place and time had
fixed twelve as the earliest age for a first communion. She would sometimes
exclaim: "Tell me, can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and
not die? "
When she was eleven years
old she was present with the rest of the community at the Ascension Day
Mass. All the others had received their communion: only Imelda was left
unsatisfied. The nuns were
preparing to leave the church when some of them were startled to see what
appeared to be a Sacred Host hovering
in the air above Imelda, as she knelt before the closed tabernacle absorbed
in prayer. Quickly they attracted the attention of the priest who
hurried forward with a paten on
which to receive It. In the face of such a miracle he
could not do otherwise than give to Imelda her first communion, which was also
her last. For the rapture with which she received her Lord was
so great that it broke her heart: she sank unconscious to the ground, and when
loving hands upraised her, it was found that she was dead.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=125
Blessed Imelda Lambertini
Blessed Imelda Lambertini
was born in 1322 in Bologna. Her family was devout Catholics and were known for
their charity. When Imelda turned 5 she requested to receive Holy Communion.
The custom would not allow her to receive until age 14. She joined a cloistered
community at age 9, which was very unusual for someone as young as she was. On
May 12 1333, she was seen kneeling in prayer when the sacristan said they saw a
Host hovering over her head. A priest came immediately, and after witnessing
the miracle he was compelled to give her the Eucharist. After she received Holy
Communion she decided to stay and pray. After a while a holy sister came to see
Imelda still kneeling in prayer with a smile on her face. When she called her
name, Imelda did not move, so she gently tapped her and Imelda collapsed on the
floor dead.
She would often exclaim
“Tell me, can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die?”
She is the patron on
First Holy Communicants.
SOURCE : https://www.thesaintsproject.org/saints/blessed-imelda-lambertini/
Bl. Imelda Lambertini
Does it seem strange, at
a time when we are called to the weighty task of being “intensely Eucharistic,”
that Dominicans should look back almost seven centuries to consider the example
of a nine year old little girl? Not so strange, really; in fact, not at all!
For wasn’t it Jesus Himself who loved to hold children up as the best example
of what He was trying to teach us all to become?
And thus we are not
embarrassed to consult a little girl in our Dominican family tree and seek from
her the meaning of the call to be “intensely Eucharistic.” Little Imelda
Lambertini would not have given us a theological treatise on devotion to the
Holy Eucharist. She would simply have told us of Jesus’ love in the Sacrament,
and then suggest that we learn to know Him there, as she did.
Dominican tradition tells
us that Imelda Lambertini was born of a noble family in Bologna, Italy in 1322.
Her parents raised her to love her Catholic faith, and through their influence
she developed a love for prayer, especially for the Mass. Often she would
attend Mass and Compline (Night Prayer of the Divine Office) at a nearby
Dominican Church. Her mother also taught Imelda to cook and sew for the poor
and cultivated in her child an eagerness to perform the corporal works of
mercy. Even so, her mother and father, both of whom were getting on in years,
were surprised when Imelda asked permission at the tender age of nine to go to
live with the Dominican nuns at a neighboring monastery. As difficult a
decision as this was, her parents evidently sensed the depth of their child’s
desire and entrusted her spiritual formation to the Dominicans at Val di
Pietra.
At this distance of
centuries and culture it is not easy to determine precisely what little
Imelda’s status was at the convent. It seems she was well loved by the sisters,
who allowed her to wear the Dominican habit, to pray with them, and to follow
their way of life to the extent that a little girl would be able to do while
still remaining a child. Imelda, we are told, longed (and intensely, it seems)
to be allowed to receive Holy Communion with the nuns, but in that day such a
thing would have been unheard of for a child her age. Her pleading was again
and again gently refused, with the explanation that she would need to wait
until she was older and more prepared. For a time Imelda had to be content with
this answer, meanwhile learning to chant Office from hearing the nuns in choir
and developing her own interior prayer life in simple childlike ways. The
saints, whose stories she had learned from her parents and from the nuns,
became her “secret companions,” and probably had a hand in nurturing the
longing she felt to receive Jesus intimately in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In her private conversations with Jesus, with whom she was developing a deep
friendship, we can imagine that she made known often her desire to be allowed
to go to Communion. There is no evidence that He put up any opposition to the
proposal—but neither did the sisters relent. And so Imelda continued, with the
intensity of a child, to get to know Jesus more deeply, and to desire Him all
the more.
As spring approached, the
sisters, who perhaps thought that they had succeeded in diverting Imelda’s
“childish fancy” to go to Communion with the grown-ups, were a bit startled
when she asked again, shortly before the feast of the Ascension, to receive her
First Holy Communion. (“Asked,” in fact, is not the word. She begged them
insistently, it seems.) When the chaplain was consulted, he agreed with the
sisters and responded with no hesitation that Imelda was much too young. On the
Vigil of the Ascension Imelda was in her place in the chapel, quietly praying
as the sisters received Communion. Then Jesus did a little “insisting” of His
own. After Mass, as one of the nuns was clearing the altar, she heard a noise
and looked up to the choir to see Imelda, a glowing light shining above her
head, with the Sacred Host suspended in the light. The chaplain was called at
once, and he understood that Jesus Himself was making his desire known. “Let
the little children come to Me and do not stop them.” The priest gave Imelda
her First Holy Communion.
We can well imagine that
the nuns were amazed and thrilled both at the great blessing to their little
one, and to their convent. The prioress allowed Imelda to remain for some time
in thanksgiving, and then sent for her to come and have her breakfast. Imelda
was still kneeling as they had left her, a smile on her face. Yet when called
for, Imelda’s body was still. She had died of pure joy. Her thanksgiving had
been well completed, and she had nothing left to desire.
Bl. Imelda’s story is so
well entrenched in the collective memory of her Dominican brothers and sisters
that it has remained firmly in the Order's history. She continues to offer the
witness of a child with mature desires, and a faith unspoiled in its intensity.
Imelda understood
instinctively what many of us have forgotten: that it is the single-hearted who
are blessed and that unless we become like children we cannot enter the Kingdom
of Heaven.
Feast: May 13
Blessed Imelda Lambertini
Imelda, daughter of Count Egano Lambertini and Castora Galuzzi, was born in the
year 1322 at Bologna, Italy. At an early age Imelda’s heart was turned toward
God. Even though she lived in the days when it was not permitted to receive the
Holy Eucharist until the age of fourteen, young Imelda’s greatest desire was to
receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Oh how she longed and longed to
receive Our Lord! When Imelda was under ten years old, she begged her father to
allow her to enter the Dominican convent; and after much pleading, he finally
consented to her desire.
Once in the convent, she again began to plead to receive Communion. Time and
time again she received the same disappointment. “No, Sister Imelda, you are
too young…” At the convent she took on many odd jobs. She attended the gate for
the poor, she scrubbed the floors, and she did all that was asked of her—all
for the honor and glory of almighty God.
On the 12th of May in the year 1333, when attending Mass with all of her
Sisters, Imelda had the strongest desire to receive Our Lord. At the end of
Mass, when all of the Sisters were leaving, they noticed Sister Imelda lovingly
gazing toward the locked tabernacle. Some of the nuns looked at Imelda and
noticed something white hovering above her. It was a Host. The nuns immediately
notified the priest, who hurriedly came and carefully took the Host out of the
air and placed It on a paten. Then he had no choice but to give the Host to
Imelda. It was obviously God’s Will that she receive her first holy Communion.
This first reception also proved to be her last; the rapture with which she
received Our Lord was so great that it burst her heart. Imelda sank to the
ground, unconscious. And when loving hands upraised her, it was found that she
was dead. Blessed Imelda is the Patroness of First Communicants; and her
beautifully incorrupt body can be seen in the Church of St. Sigismund at
Bologna, Italy.
SOURCE : http://www.catholicapologetics.info/library/gallery/incorrupt/incorrupt.htm#Lambertini
Blessed Imelda Lambertini
Today is the historical
feast of Blessed Imelda Lambertini. The daughter of a noble family,
Blessed Imelda was born in 1322 in Bologna, Italy. She was an only child and
grew up going to Mass frequently with her family. When she was nine, Imelda
entered the Dominican Convent in Val di Pietra. As the youngest one there, she
prayed with the others and wore a modified Dominican habit, but was unable to
receive Communion, which was not permitted by Church law until the age of
twelve. This hurt her very deeply. She prayed that Jesus would grant her wish
and allow her to receive Him sooner. She even asked the convent priest, but he
refused to make an exception.To receive Jesus in Communion became the consuming
desire of her heart. She would even sometimes exclaim: "Tell me, can
anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die? "
When Imelda was eleven years old, on the eve of the Ascension, she remained
behind after Mass, praying silently in the chapel. As the other sisters began
to leave the chapel, a great miracle occurred. Suddenly, a heavenly fragrance
filled the air and a luminous host had emerged from the tabernacle and was
hovering above Imelda’s head. The sisters told the the priest and upon seeing
the host, he knelt in adoration and received the host on the paten. He
immediately gave Communion to Imelda. Upon receiving Jesus, Imelda was so
overcome with joy that she had died in a loving state of ecstasy.
Imelda was beatified in 1826. In 1910, Pope St. Pius X began to allow children
to receive Holy Communion at age seven. He also named Imelda the patroness of
First Communicants. Her body is incorrupt.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you received into heaven Blessed Imelda who loved you in the
Eucharistic banquet. By her prayers may we learn to approach your holy table
with that same fervent love and so fulfill our longing to be with you, who live
and reign with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
SOURCE : http://catholicfire.blogspot.ca/2013/03/blessed-imelda-lambertini.html
Blessed Imelda
Lambertini, V.O.P.
Memorial Day: May 13th
Profile
One of the most charming
legends in Dominican hagiography is that of little Imelda, who died of love on
her first Communion day, and who is, by this happy circumstance, patroness of
all first communicants.
Tradition says that
Imelda was the daughter of Count Egano Lambertini of Bologna. Her family was
famous for its many religious, including a Dominican preacher, a Franciscan
mother foundress, and an aunt of Imelda's who had founded a convent of strict observance
in Bologna.
Imelda was a delicate
child, petted and favored by her family, and it was no surprise that she should
be religious by nature. She learned to read from the Psalter, and early devoted
herself to attending Mass and Compline at the Dominican church. Her mother
taught her to sew and cook for the poor, and went with her on errands of
charity. When Imelda was nine, she asked to be allowed to go to the Dominicans
at Val di Pietra. She was the only child of a couple old enough not to hope for
any more children; it was a wrench to let her go. However, they took her to the
convent and gave her to God with willing, if sorrowing, hearts.
Imelda's status in the
convent is hard to discern. She wore the habit, followed the exercises of the house
as much as she was allowed to, and longed for the day when she would be old
enough to join them in the two things she envied most--the midnight Office and
the reception of Holy Eucharist. Her age barred her from both. She picked up
the Divine Office from hearing the sisters chant, and meditated as well as she
could.
It was a lonely life for
the little girl of nine, and, like many another lonely child, she imagined
playmates for herself--with this one difference--her playmates were saints. She
was especially fond of Saint Agnes, the martyr, who was little older than
Imelda herself. Often she read about her from the large illuminated books in
the library, and one day Agnes came in a vision to see her. Imelda was
delighted. Shut away from participation in adult devotions, she had found a
contemporary who could tell her about the things she most wanted to know. Agnes
came often after this, and they talked of heavenly things.
Her first Christmas in
the convent brought only sorrow to Imelda. She had been hoping that the sisters
would relent and allow her to receive Communion with them, but on the great
day, when everyone except her could go receive Jesus in the Eucharist, Imelda
remained in her place, gazing through tears at the waxen figure in the creche.
Imelda began to pray even more earnestly that she might receive Communion.
When her prayer was
answered, spring had come to Bologna, and the world was preparing for the Feast
of the Ascension. No one paid much attention to the little girl as she knelt in
prayer while the sisters prepared for the Mass. Even when she asked to remain
in the chapel in vigil on the eve of the feast, it caused no comment; she was a
devout child. The sisters did not know how insistently she was knocking at
heaven's gate, reciting to herself, for assurance, the prayer that appeared in
the Communion verse for the Rogation Days: "Ask and it shall be given to
you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you."
The door was opened for
Imelda on the morning of the Vigil of the Ascension. She had asked once more
for the great privilege of receiving Communion, and, because of her
persistence, the chaplain was called in on the case. He refused flatly; Imelda
must wait until she was older. She went to her place in the chapel, giving no
outward sign that she intended to take heaven by storm, and watched quietly
enough while the other sister went to Communion.
After Mass, Imelda
remained in her place in the choir. The sacristan busied herself putting out
candles and removing the Mass vestments. A sound caused her to turn and look
into the choir, and she saw a brilliant light shining above Imelda's head, and
a Host suspended in the light. The sacristan hurried to get the chaplain.
The chaplain now had no
choice; God had indicated that He wanted to be communicated to Imelda.
Reverently, the chaplain took the Host and gave it to the rapt child, who knelt
like a shining statue, unconscious of the nuns crowding into the chapel, or the
laypeople pushing against the chapel grille to see what might be happening
there.
After an interval for
thanksgiving, the prioress went to call the little novice for breakfast. She
found her still kneeling. There was a smile on her face, but she was dead.
The legend of Blessed
Imelda is firmly entrenched in Dominican hearts, though it is difficult now to
find records to substantiate it. She may have been eleven, rather than ten when
she died. The convent where she lived has been gone for centuries and its
records with it.
Several miracles have
been worked through her intercession, and her cause for canonization has been
under consideration for many years. As recently as 1928 a major cure was
reported of a Spanish sister who was dying of meningitis. Other miracles are
under consideration. The day may yet come when the lovable little patroness of
first communicants can be enrolled in the calendar of the saints (Benedictines,
Dominicans, Dorcy).
Born: Born in
Bologna, Italy, in 1322
Died: died on the
Feast of the Ascension, May 13, 1333
Beatified: cultus
confirmed in 1826 by Pope Leo VII
Patronage: named
patron of first communicants by Pope Pius X.
Representation: In
art, Imelda is a very young Dominican novice, kneeling before the altar with a
sacred Host appearing above her. She is venerated at Bologna and Valdipietra
(Roeder).
Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant. This is a wise
Virgin whom the Lord found watching, who took her lamp and oil, and when the
Lord came she entered with Him into the marriage feast, alleluia.
V. Pray for us Blessed
Imelda, alleluia.
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ, alleluia.
Lauds:
Ant. Come, O my chosen
one, and I will place my throne in thee, for the King hath exceedingly desired
thy beauty, alleluia.
V. Virgins shall be led
to the King after her, alleluia.
R. Her companions shall
be presented to Thee, alleluia.
Second Vespers:
Ant. She has girded her
loins with courage and hath strengthened her arm; therefore shall her lamp not
be put out forever, alleluia
V. Pray for us Blessed
Imelda, alleluia
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ, alleluia
Prayer:
Let us Pray: O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst receive into heaven the blessed virgin Imelda, wounded with the burning love of Thy charity, and wonderfully sustained by an immaculate host, grant us through her intercession to approach the holy table with a like fervor of charity, that we may long to be dissolved, and to be with Thee. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
SOURCE : http://www.willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20May.html#Blessed Imelda
May 13: Blessed Imelda,
V., O.P., Comm.
Today, in the 1962
Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Imelda Lambertini,
virgin, of the Order of Preachers. Since today is the 100th anniversary
of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, we may pray the II Class office from the
Common of the Saints, or the Saturday office of the B.V.M. A
commemoration is made of Blessed Imelda at Lauds only.
I
have a particular devotion to Blessed Imelda these days. Our daughter is
on the Autism spectrum, and she has developed a compulsive fear of receiving
Communion. After trying repeatedly, over a period of many Sunday's, to
coax her into receiving, I finally realized that the saint who could probably
help me here was this wonderful child-saint from my other family...the
Dominican family. So I keep a copy of the collect prayer from her feast
(below) which I pray at Mass every Sunday, just prior to Communion, and I ask
Blessed Imelda to intercede for both of our children, that they may have a
supernatural devotion to the Eucharist.
From the Martyrology:
At Bologna, a
commemoration of the precious death of Blessed Imelda, virgin, of the Order of
Preachers. After receiving the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist,
which she most ardently desired, she could not sustain the most intense fire of
love. Her journey in life ended, she happily entered heaven to reign as a
victim of love.
From “Short Lives of the
Dominican Saints” (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, and Trübner & Co., Ltd.,
1901):
Blessed Imelda was born
at Bologna in Italy about A.D. 1322, of the family of the Lambertini,
distinguished alike for nobility and piety. Her father was a rich, brave, and
powerful nobleman, who filled several important posts and was remarkable for
his charity to the poor, and especially to the mendicant religious orders. His
wife, Castora, was worthy of him. She had a particular devotion to pray for the
souls in Purgatory, and for their relief she multiplied her charitable
donations to monasteries and churches. Like the Child Jesus, Imelda grew in
wisdom, age, and grace with God and men. From her earliest years she took
little interest in the ordinary amusements of her age, but listened eagerly to
holy stories and religious instruction, and gave herself entirely to a life of
devotion. She made a little oratory for herself, wherein she delighted in
reciting the Psalms and other prayers.
When Imelda had entered
on her tenth year, she was placed in the Dominican Convent of Saint Mary
Madalen, situated at Val di Pietra, at the foot of the hills which lie to the
south of Bologna. The laws of the Church which now regulate the age for
admission to the noviciate had not then been enacted; it may well have been,
therefore, that little Imelda actually embraced the religious life at this
early age ; and this is the view of the case usually taken by the writers of
her story. It is possible, however, that her pious parents, as is still
sometimes done in Catholic countries, had only vowed her to God and Saint
Dominic, to wear the habit for a certain number of years. Imelda was at this
time, we are told, remarkably tall for her age, fragile and delicate, and fair
as an angel to behold.
The young Saint threw
herself heart and soul into the new life which had opened before her. This
child of nine years old set herself to practice the austere Rule with most
loving fidelity, devoting herself to the exercise of prayer and penance, and by
her fervor rendering herself a model even to the oldest and most saintly of the
Community. She erected a little Calvary in the most remote part of the garden,
and thither she loved to retire, in order to meditate undisturbed on the
sufferings and death of her Divine Spouse.
But her chief devotion
was to Jesus hidden in the Sacrament of His love; and with all the ardor of her
soul did she long for the happy day when our Lord would unite her to Himself in
Holy Communion. "Tell me," she would often say to her religious
Sisters, "how is it possible to receive Jesus into one's heart and not to
die?"
It appears that it was
not then usual in Northern Italy for children to make their First Communion
before the age of fourteen. Vainly, therefore, did the little Imelda over and
over again beseech her Confessor to allow her to approach the Holy Table.
He turned a deaf ear to all her entreaties. But He "who feeds
amongst the lilies," and who, when He was on earth, said, "Suffer
little children to come to Me, and forbid them not," would not allow the
loving young heart to be disappointed.
It was the last of the
Rogation Days, May 12, A.D. 1333. The two years which she had now spent in the
religious life and the approach of the great festival of the Ascension had
caused the flames of Divine love to burn more brightly than ever in the breast
of Imelda. All the nuns approached the Holy Table ; she alone knelt apart in a
corner of the Choir, pouring forth her acts of fervent desire, and weeping
bitterly because she was not allowed to share their happiness. The Mass was
over; the priest had left the altar; the lights were extinguished; the
Community had for the most part dispersed to discharge their various domestic
duties; still Imelda knelt on, absorbed in prayer.
Suddenly a heavenly
fragrance filled the sacred building and diffused itself even beyond its
precincts. It drew the Sisters back to the Choir, where a wondrous sight
met their eyes. A radiant Host was suspended in the air above the head of the
saintly child. Her Heavenly Bridegroom had heard her prayer, and was indeed
come to make her all His own.
The astonished nuns
immediately summoned the chaplain to the spot. He came in his sacred vestments,
with the paten in his hand, and knelt in wondering adoration, awaiting some
further manifestation of the Divine will. Then the Host gently descended upon the
paten, and the priest communicated Imelda. The transport of love, and joy, and
gratitude was too great for the weak bodily frame; the happy child closed her
eyes, and, in the kiss of the Lord, breathed forth her pure soul to go and make
endless thanksgiving in heaven.
Her holy remains now lie
in the little Church of Saint Sigismund at Bologna. She was beatified by Leo
XII. , A.D. 1826, and is deservedly regarded as the Patroness of First
Communicants. Confraternities in her honor have been established in several
places, the English Confraternity having its center at Saint Dominic's Priory,
Haverstock Hill, London.
Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, you have received into heaven the holy maiden Imelda, on
fire with charity's burning love and wonderfully refreshed by the stainless
sacrifice; grant us, by her intercession, to draw near with like fervor to your
holy table, so that we too may long to be dissolved and to be with you.
For you live and reign...
SOURCE : https://breviariumsop.blogspot.com/2019/05/may-13-blessed-imelda-v-op-comm.html
Saint Imelda Lambertini
1321, Italy
May 13, 1333
Saint Imelda was born at Bologna in Italy, in the early 14th century. Still a
child, she arranged a little oratory in her house, where she often would pray.
She resolved to enter a monastery and make the vows of religion, and to give
herself entirely to her Saviour. Her parents permitted her entry into a
Dominican convent at Valdipietra, near Bologna. She practiced mortifications
above her age, and manifested a very tender love for the Queen of Angels and
the Holy Eucharist, though she could not yet receive Holy Communion. But God
was soon to manifest that it is not age which wins His favor, but virtue.
On the day of the Ascension in 1333, when Imelda was twelve years old, she
alone remained unable to advance to receive Holy Communion. She raised her eyes
to heaven and prayed to her Lord: "Come, for I am languishing with love
and dying with desire for Your adorable presence!" When He did not come,
she continued to pray and weep. Suddenly, a miraculous Host came forth from the
tabernacle, crossed the grill separating the choir, and stopped in the air
before her. The nuns, amazed, hardly dared raise their eyes, but soon they
realized there was no illusion: the miracle continued, a sudden brightness and
a sweet fragrance filled the church, while an invisible hand continued to hold
the mystical Bread in the air before the young girl. She herself seemed an
Angel in adoration. Her confessor was told to come, and saw all that the
Sisters were seeing. He placed the Sacred Host on a paten, and then gave it to
the child. She seemed to lose consciousness. But soon the Sisters grew anxious;
they called her by name, told her to rise, touched her, but Saint Imelda was no
longer of this world; she had expired in an ecstasy of pure love.
SOURCE : http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=29992558
Beata Imelda
Lambertini Vergine
Festa: 12 maggio
Bologna, 1320 c. - 12
maggio 1333
Nata a Bologna intorno al
1320, morì nel monastero domenicano di Santa Maria Maddalena in Val di Pietra
nel 1333, quindi a soli 13 anni circa. Era entrata nel monastero ancora
bambina, desiderosa di ricevere l'Eucaristia. Ciò avvenne per via miracolosa,
come attesta la tradizione. Questo prodigio l'ha resa modello di devozione
eucaristica. Fu Papa Leone XII a confermare il 20 dicembre 1826 il culto della
beata, già attestato nel catalogo dei santi e dei beati della Chiesa bolognese
del 1582. San Pio X nel 1908 la proclamò patrona dei bimbi che ricevono la
Prima Comunione. Le sue reliquie sono venerato oggi nella chiesa bolognese di
San Sigismondo. Il domenicano Venerabile Giocondo Pio Lorgna mise sotto la
protezione della Beata la Congregazione da lui fondata, le Suore domenicane
della Beata Imelda, oggi presenti in Italia, Albania, Filippine, Camerun,
Brasile e Bolivia. Si occupano di pastorale parrocchiale, scolastica e
giovanile. Per «Amare e far amare Gesù Eucaristia», secondo il detto del
fondatore.
Patronato: Bambini
che ricevono la Prima Comunione
Etimologia: Imelda =
(forse) attiva in battaglia, dall'antico tedesco
Martirologio
Romano: A Bologna, beata Imelda Lambertini, vergine, che, accolta fin da
piccola come monaca nell’Ordine dei Predicatori, ancor giovinetta, dopo aver
ricevuto l’Eucaristia con straordinaria devozione, d’un tratto emise il suo
spirito.
La vicenda terrena di Imelda Lambertina fu circoscritta come tempo e come spazio: visse appena 13 anni, trascorsi interamente a Bologna, la maggior parte nella casa paterna e gli ultimi nel monastero domenicano di Valdipietra, che sorgeva all’esterno delle mura, nelle vicinanze di porta Saragozza.
Nulla si conosce della sua breve esistenza, se non il modo in cui avvenne la sua morte.
“…… fu dell’anno MCCCXXXIII la quale aveva nome Sor Imelda Lambertini, che essendo giovinetta non in età di comunicarsi, essendo in orazione avanti l’ altare, venne la Sacra Ostia dal Cielo e fu comunicata per mano del sacerdote, e subito spirò in presenza di molte Suore e altre persone, e fu sepolta in quest’Arca”- spiegava l’iscrizione posta sul suo primitivo sepolcro.
E nel Martirologio del medesimo monastero, dedicato a Santa Maria Maddalena, fu scritto nel 1335, accanto al nome dei martiri Nereo ed Achille ricordati il 12 maggio, che in quello stesso giorno era morta Soror Imelda de Lambertinis alla quale in vita fu comunicata dal sacerdote l’ostia discesa dal Cielo, in presenza di molti.
Un altro documento ci racconta il fatto prodigioso: è vergato da mano sconosciuta su un breviario del 1552 appartenuto alle suore di Valdipietra. In esso troviamo che nell’anno 1333 la Beata Imelda della nobile ed illustre casa de’ Lambertini pigliò l’abito monacale del nostro Monastero fuori porta Saragozza, ed essendo fanciulla di dodici anni circa, le fu negata per causa della poca età la grazia di comunicarsi con le altre Madri e sorelle. Venne un giorno in grandissimo desiderio della sacra comunione e partite le altre suore di chiesa, ella se ne restò davanti all’altare maggiore in orazione e tanto perseverò, che piacque al suo dilettissimo Sposo di consolarla col mandarle dal paradiso l’Ostia consacrata, la quale con meraviglioso odore e splendore volava in alto davanti a lei prostrata a terra. Venne subito il sacerdote con la patena presso la beata vergine Imelda, la sacra Ostia si pose sopra la patena e la Sposa di Cristo fu comunicata: subito rese lo spirito al Signore e l’anima sua se ne volò al cielo nella beata gloria. Era il 12 maggio come appare nel Martirologio grande del convento scritto a penna e si vede nel suo sepolcro, quantunque caduco per l’antichità. Sono passati due secoli dai fatti raccontati quando scrive l’anonimo autore, ma la memoria di quella piccola suora, protagonista di un’eccezionale manifestazione dell’amore divino, custodita ed alimentata da un ininterrotta tradizione orale, è più viva che mai.
In quegli stessi anni, in seguito ad una disposizione del Concilio di Trento, le suore dovettero lasciare il loro convento fuori città e trasferirsi all’interno delle mura, in Via Galliera. Con l’approvazione dell’autorità ecclesiastica furono esumate le ossa della beata, sottoposte a ricognizione giuridica con l’intervento del celebre anatomista Giulio Cesare Aranzio, riposte in una cassettina di legno dorato e trasportate nel febbraio 1582 nella nuova sede del convento di S. M. Maddalena. Nel medesimo anno il nome di Imelda Lambertini veniva iscritto nel catalogo dei santi e beati bolognesi.
E’ di quegli anni la seguente testimonianza di una consorella: Quanto ho detto della beata Suor Imelda de’ Lambertini, suora del nostro monastero di S. M. Maddalena, l’ ho appreso dalla bocca di tre venerabili e devote Madri…Nel 1518 io entrai in monastero e ho udito più volte addurre in esempio questa beata Verginella… La Madre Bartolomea assai ed infinite volte esortava me e le mie compagne novizie ad essere simili a questa Sposa di Gesù Cristo. E posso con verità dire che mai ella parlò della Beata Imelda senza abbondanza di lacrime. Mi diceva che la Beata era bambina come me, ma più devota e più innamorata del suo Sposo e che andava abbietta, posata ed umile quanto dir si possa, ancorché il padre suo fosse Cavaliere….
Egano Lambertini, padre di Imelda, fu uno dei più stimati cavalieri che nella prima metà del 1300 resero illustre la città di Bologna e celebre il proprio casato con l’onestà della vita, la nobiltà unita all’umanità del tratto, la prudenza nel governo e l’accortezza nel maneggio dei pubblici affari. Era in relazione amica con le Famiglie religiose presenti a Bologna, in particolare coi Frati Predicatori, sia perchè tra essi viveva suo fratello, P. Guglielmo Lambertini, sia perché i suoi genitori erano stati sepolti presso la chiesa di S. Domenico. Morta la prima moglie quando il figlio Guido era appena adolescente, dopo qualche anno Egano passò a seconde nozze sposando Castora Galluzzi, che portò in dote, oltre alla nobiltà del sangue e ai beni del proprio casato, un animo ricco di virtù cristiane. Anche nella sua parentela vi erano persone rinomate per santità e sapere, legate all’ordine di S. Domenico, come uno dei suoi fratelli, P. Egidio Galluzzi, uomo di grande dottrina.
Però la famiglia Lambertini deve la sua vera gloria alla santa creatura che la Provvidenza aveva destinato come figlia a Castora ed Egano, la piccola Imelda che non ebbe il tempo di compiere gesta umanamente memorabili, ma corrispose con la totalità del suo cuore alla grazia di Dio e scelse per sé «l’unica cosa necessaria:la parte migliore che non le sarà tolta» come dice Gesù nel Vangelo.
Educata dalla madre alla vera pietà cristiana, ella imparò presto a volgere a Dio il suo pensiero, la sua preghiera e tutto il suo affetto; alla scuola materna imparò sicuramente la devozione alla Santa Eucaristia che poi, crescendo, la guida interiore dello Spirito trasformò in amore appassionato a Gesù e in desiderio veemente di riceverLo nell’Ostia consacrata.
Imelda conduceva una vita raccolta e quieta con la madre; il padre era spesso fuori Bologna per importanti incarichi; il fratello, molto più grande di lei, aveva altri impegni che lo tenevano occupato. Secondo l’usanza dei tempi, non risulta straordinario il fatto che verso i dieci anni una bambina entrasse in monastero e non ci meravigliamo che Imelda abbia scelto un convento domenicano, in una città come Bologna che si gloriava di custodire il sepolcro di San Domenico. Nell’Ordine il culto della S. Eucaristia aveva avuto in S. Domenico il contemplativo estatico che rigava di lacrime il suo volto ogni volta che, celebrando la S. Messa, teneva tra le mani la Vittima divina e in S. Tommaso il cantore innamorato che aveva messo sulle labbra del popolo cristiano le parole più sublimi per celebrare la festa del Corpus Domini: tutto ciò fu trasmesso dalle suore di Valdipietra alla novizia assetata di conoscere ed amare il Signore. Pochi decenni dopo, Santa Caterina da Siena vivrà lungo tempo cibandosi solo di Eucaristia; anch’essa sarà spesso ostacolata nel suo desiderio di ricevere quotidianamente il Corpo del Signore e l’Ostia santa “volerà” alcune volte da lei in modo miracoloso.
Per la sua piccola Imelda il Signore preparava un dono singolare: passare dalla
gioia dell’amplesso eucaristico al gaudio delle nozze eterne. Fu questo il
sigillo che “svelò” a tutti la preziosità di quella giovane vita, nascosta al
mondo.
Fonte : www.domenicani.net
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/53000
Beata Imelda Lambertini
Maria Maddalena, nasce a Bologna nel 1320, figlia del Podestà di Città di
Castello, Egano Lambertini (1282-1348) e di Castora Galluzzi di nobile ed
illustre famiglia bolognese, sposata in seconde nozze (1302) dopo la morte
della prima moglie Tommasina di Villano Guastavillani ( °? - †1315 ) e dalla
quale ebbe un figlio, Guido.
Il patrimonio dei Lambertini era costituito da alcune case nella città di
Bologna, e da un'estesa proprietà immobiliare composta da case e terre intorno
a Poggio Renatico, eredità della famiglia Guastavillani. Egano Lambertini capo
del casato e cavaliere, ricevette agli inizi del 1300 il titolo di conte.
Maria Maddalena respirò fin dalla sua nascita la viva e profonda fede cristiana
della madre. Fin da piccola ascoltava attentamente i salmi, le storie sacre, i
racconti delle vite dei santi imparando a nutrire il gusto di “piacere al
Signore” ed a tenersi lontana dalle vanità, mentre cresceva in lei il desiderio
di offrire tutta se stessa al Signore; così tra i dodici o tredici anni come
era consuetudine in quel tempo, scelse di entrare come novizia tra le suore
domenicane nel monastero di S. Maria Maddalena di Val di Pietra (oggi sorge il
convento dei Frati Cappuccini), col nome di Imelda. Il nome Imelda è un
adattamento del tedesco Irmhild, derivato dal germanico Erminhilt, composto da
ermen, "totale", "universale", e hild,
"battaglia", col possibile significato di "battaglia
universale" oppure "battaglia celeste". La piccola comunità di
monache era composta dalle Canonichesse Regolari di Sant'Agostino le quali
verso la fine del sec. XIII erano passate alla Regola Domenicana. Qui Imelda
visse immersa nella spiritualità domenicana, fedele alla celebrazione della
divina Liturgia diurna e notturna, all’amore per Gesù Eucaristia, penetrando
sempre più nel mistero dell’amore di Dio per l’uomo. La formazione religiosa e
la vita di preghiera alimentarono costantemente in Imelda, giovane novizia, il
desiderio di ricevere Gesù nel sacramento dell’Eucarestia, in perfetta intima
unione con Dio. A quell'epoca i sacramenti erano impartiti in ordine inverso
rispetto a quello odierno, prima era somministrata la cresima poi la prima
comunione. Imelda non aveva ancora l'età per comunicarsi, ma di lei la
tradizione racconta che ardeva di devozione per Gesù e di desiderio per
ricevere l’Ostia consacrata, tanto da farne continua richiesta, sempre
rifiutata.
Nel corso della Messa per la Vigilia dell’Ascensione Imelda si trovava in
Cappella partecipando con le suore e le altre educande alla celebrazione della Messa,
giunto il momento della Comunione Imelda inginocchiata al suo posto prega
fervidamente desiderando nel suo intimo di ricevere Gesù. Al termine della
Santa Messa e della recita dei Salmi le Suore si ritirarono dal Coro, il
Sacerdote rimase in Sacrestia come di consueto ed Imelda in preghiera sola
davanti all’altare. Ad un tratto apparve dall’alto un’ostia circonfusa di luce,
un odore fragrante di pane si diffuse per tutto il monastero. Accorsero le
suore e il sacerdote, il quale, raccolta l’ostia in una patena, comunicò Imelda
mentre era raccolta in fervente preghiera, trasfigurata di gioia per
l'ottenimento della tanto desiderata unione col divino, ed ancora
inginocchiata, Imelda spirò in un’estasi d’amore e si accasciò al suolo
passando alla vita di gloria nella comunione eterna con il suo Signore insieme
al Padre, allo Spirito Santo e all’immensa schiera degli Angeli e dei Santi.
Era il 12 maggio 1333.
La giovane Imelda compiva tredici anni.
Le sue spoglie furono racchiuse in un artistico sepolcro di marmo con
l’iscrizione in Memoria di Imelda Lambertini e custodite dalle monache e dalla
famiglia.
Nel 1582 il nome della Beata Imelda Lambertini fu inserito nel Catalogo dei
Santi e Beati della Chiesa Bolognese.
O Beata Imelda,
segno d’amore per Gesù eucaristico,
ottieni anche a me di desiderare sempre ardentemente, come tu desiderasti,
l’incontro gioioso con Gesù nell’Eucaristia.
Quando Egli viene in me,
fa che si trasfiguri la mia vita:
sia essa azione di grazie e di amore,
sia ogni giorno serena e luminosa testimonianza
della mia amorosa ricerca
della verità
nella comunione permanente con Lui.
Amen !
Invocazione alla Beata imelde riportata sul retro del "Santino".Dopo
il pontificato di Benedetto XIV (nato Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, 1675-1758)
la famiglia Lambertini affidò la custodia delle spoglie ai marchesi Malvezzi, i
quali verso il 1798, con il beneplacito dell’Arcivescovo, traslarono alla
chiesa di San Sigismondo che godeva del loro patronato dei Malvezzi, le
reliquie e la loro venerazione.
Sotto il pontificato di Benedetto XIV (1740-1758), il quale la ricordò in una
sua opera sulla canonizzazione dei Servi di Dio, furono avviate le pratiche di
conferma del culto della beata bolognese, che però avvenne solo con papa Leone
XII (nato Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola Sermattei
della Genga, 1760-1829), il 20 dicembre 1826. La pratica di canonizzazione fu
ripresa nel 1921 proseguendo fino al 1942, arenandosi poi per difficoltà di
carattere storico. Il culto per la beata Imelda Lambertini, papa Pio X (nato
Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto 1835-1914), nel 1908 la indicò come protettrice dei
bambini che si accostano alla Prima Comunione. In Francia nel monastero di
Prouilles sorse in suo onore una Confraternita, approvata dai Sommi Pontefici e
sotto la guida dell’Ordine Domenicano. Infine il Servo di Dio padre domenicano
Giocondo Pio Lorgna (1870-1928), mise sotto la protezione della Beata la
Congregazione da lui fondata, le Suore Domenicane della Beata Imelda, presenti
in Italia, Brasile, Albania, Filippine, Camerum, Bolivia.
In cruce latebat sola Deitas,
at hic latet simul et humanitas: ambo tamen credens atque confitens peto quod
petivit latro poenitens.
O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus vitam paestans homini, presta meae menti de te vivere et te illi
sempre dulce sapere.
Iesu, quem velatum nunc auspicio,
oro fiat illud quod tam sitio, ut te rivelata cernens facie visu sim beatus
tuae gloriae
San Tommaso, Adoro Te devote
A cura di Debora Menozzi.
SOURCE : http://smell.ilcannocchiale.it/2012/05/12/beata_imelda_lambertini.html
Den salige Imelda
Lambertini av Bologna (~1320-1333)
Minnedag:
12. mai
Skytshelgen for førstekommunikanter
Den salige Imelda ble
født som Maria Magdalena Lambertini (it: Maria Maddalena) rundt 1320 (1322?) i
Bologna i regionen Emilia-Romagna i Nord-Italia. Hun tilhørte en av byens
eldste familier og var i følge tradisjonen datter av grev Egano Lambertini og
hans andre hustru Castora Galuzzi. Familien var berømt for sine mange
ordensfolk, inkludert en dominikaner, en fransiskansk klostergrunnleggerske og
en tante av Imelda, som hadde grunnlagt et kloster av streng observans i
Bologna.
En av de mest sjarmerende
legendene i dominikansk hagiografi er om unge Imelda. Hun var et følsomt barn,
forkjælt og begunstiget av familien, og det var ingen overraskelse at hun
skulle bli religiøs av natur. Hun lærte å lese av psalteret, og tidlig begynte
hun å gå til messe og kompletorium i dominikanerkirken. Hennes mor lærte henne
å sy og lage mat til de fattige, og gikk sammen med henne i nestekjærlige
ærend. Da Imelda var ni år, ba hun om tillatelse til å tre inn hos
dominikanerne (Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum – OP) i Val di Pietra
(Valdipietra). Hun var foreldrenes eneste barn, og de var så gamle at de ikke
kunne håpe på flere, så det var smertefullt å la henne dra. Men de tok henne
med til klosteret og ga henne til Gud med villige, om enn sorgfulle hjerter.
Imeldas status i
klosteret er vanskelig å skjelne. Noen kaller henne elev ved
dominikanerklosteret, men Helligkåringskongregasjonens Index ac status
causarum skriver at hun var nonne i dominikanerordenen. Hun tok
ordensnavnet Imelda, bar drakten og fulgte husets timeplan så langt hun fikk
tillatelse til og lengtet etter den dagen hun var gammel nok til å slutte seg
til dem i de to tingene hun lengtet mest etter: Officiet ved midnatt og
mottakelsen av Den hellige kommunion. Hennes alder stengte henne ute fra begge
deler. Hun lærte officiet ved å høre søstrene synge, og hun deltok så godt hun
kunne.
Det var et ensomt liv for
en jente på ni år, og i likhet med mange ensomme barn, diktet hun opp
lekekamerater, bare med den forskjell at hennes lekekamerater var helgener. Hun
var spesielt glad i den hellige martyren Agnes, som var
litt eldre enn henne selv. Ofte leste hun om henne i de store illuminerte
bøkene i biblioteket, og en dag kom Agnes i en visjon for å møte henne. Imelda
var henrykt, for selv om hun var utelukket fra å delta i hele klosterlivet på
linje med de voksne, hadde hun funnet en jevnaldrende som kunne fortelle henne
om de tingene hun mest av alt ønsket å vite om. Agnes kom ofte etter dette, og
de snakket om himmelske ting.
Imeldas første jul i
klosteret brakte bare sorger til henne. Hun hadde håpet at søstrene ville gi
etter og tillate henne å motta kommunionen sammen med dem, men på den store
dagen, da alle bortsett fra henne mottok Jesus i eukaristien, ble Imelda på sin
plass og stirret gjennom tårer på voksfiguren i krybben. Hun begynte å be enda
hardere om at hun måtte motta kommunionen.
Da hennes bønner ble
oppfylt, hadde våren kommet til Bologna og de forberedte seg på festen for Kristi
himmelfart. Ingen brydde seg særlig om den lille jenta som knelte i bønn mens
søstrene forberedte seg til messen. Selv da hun ba om å få bli i kapellet i
vigilien for festen, var det ingen som kommenterte det, for hun var et fromt
barn. Hun hadde igjen spurt om det store privilegiet å få motta kommunionen, og
på grunn av hennes insistering ble kapellanen rådspurt. Han avslo blankt og sa
at hun måtte vente til hun ble eldre. Hun gikk til sin plass i kapellet, og ga
ikke noe ytre tegn på at hun aktet å ta himmelen med storm, og så stille på
mens de andre søstrene gikk til kommunion.
Etter messen forble
Imelda på sin plass i koret. Sakristanen sprang rundt og slukket lys og ordnet
messeklær. En lyd fikk henne til å snu seg og se inn i koret, og hun så et strålende
lys som skinte over Imeldas hode, og en hostie hang i lyset. Sakristanen
skyndte seg for å hente kapellanen. Kapellanen hadde ikke noe valg, for Gud
hadde indikert at han ønsket å bli kommunisert med Imelda. Ærbødig tok
kapellanen hostien og ga den til barnet, som var i ekstase og knelte som en
skinnende statue og ikke merket at søstrene strømmet inn i kapellet og
legfolket presset seg mot kapellets gitter for å se hva som foregikk der.
Etter en pause for
takksigelse gikk priorinnen for å hente den lille novisen til frokost. Hun fant
henne fortsatt knelende. Det var et smil på hennes ansikt, men hun var død. Det
var den 12. mai 1333 i Val di Pietra. Hennes relikvier har siden 1582 vært
oppbevart i kirken San Sigismondo i Bologna.
Hun ble saligkåret den
20. desember 1826 ved at hennes kult ble stadfestet av pave Leo XII (1823-29).
Hennes minnedag er dødsdagen 12. mai, men 13. mai nevnes også. Den hellige
pave Pius X (1903-14)
utnevnte henne til skytshelgen for førstekommunikanter, og i forbindelse med
hans kloke oppmuntring til tidlig og hyppig kommunion, opplevde hennes kult en
ny blomstring. I kunsten fremstilles hun som en svært ung dominikansk novise
som kneler foran alteret med en hostie svevende over seg.
Tradisjonen sier at hun
var elleve år da hun døde, men det er trolig at hun var et par år eldre.
Klosteret der hun levde, har vært forsvunnet i århundrer, og dets arkiver med
det. Flere mirakler har skjedd gjennom hennes forbønn, og hennes
helligkåringsprosess har vært under vurdering i mange år. Så nylig som i 1928
ble det meldt om en mirakuløs helbredelse av en spansk søster som var døende av
hjernehinnebetennelse. Andre mirakler blir vurdert.
Dominikaneren Giocondo
Pio Lorgna (1870-1928) grunnla en kongregasjon som han satte under Imeldas
beskyttelse, «Dominikanersøstre av den salige Imelda» (Suore Domenicane
della Beata Imelda – SDBI), som i dag virker i Italia, Albania, Filippinene,
Kamerun, Brasil og Bolivia. De arbeider i sogn, undervisning og tar seg av barn
og unge.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (V), Benedictines, Schauber/Schindler, Index99, KIR,
CSO, Patron Saints SQPN, Infocatho, Bautz, Heiligenlexikon,
santiebeati.it - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 2000-06-25 21:10 - Sist oppdatert: 2006-06-21 19:01
Linken er kopiert til
utklippstavlen!
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/ibologna
Beata Imelda Lambertini
Su padre fue Egano de Lambertini, hombre de gran caridad para con los pobres y
religiosos, y su madre, Castora de Galluzzi. De familias nobles (ambos eran
condes) y modelos de piedad y virtudes cristianas. De esta familia salieron
insignes personajes eclesiásticos, como Próspero Lambertini, futuro papa
Benedicto XIV. Egano, de fe robusta, y Castora, de tierna piedad. En este
ambiente nace Imelda dei Lambetini, en 1322 en Bolonia. El nombre
"I-mel-da" significa en latín Ve-da-miel.
El Señor concede a ciertas almas predestinadas una mayor gracia desde el
principio. Al profeta Jeremías y a Juan Bautista los santificó antes de nacer.
Lo mismo se afirma de Santo Domingo de Guzmán y de San Vicente Ferrer. El Señor
derramó en el corazón de Imelda bendiciones y virtudes desde su infancia, lo
que a todos llenaba de asombro. De gran candor, humildad, obediencia y piedad,
sus cercanos notaban que era todo amor para Dios y para los que la trataban.
Era ferviente devota de Santa Inés de Roma, una niña que murió mártir a los 13
años de edad en Roma el año 304, y tuvo varias visiones con ella. Igual que a
Inés, a solo Jesús amaba y era habitual verla en una especie de éxtasis que
daba a su rostro un destello angelical.
A los 9 años de edad fue recibida en el monasterio de las Hermanas Dominicas en
Valdipietra, cerca de Bolonia, como religiosa. A causa de su edad no había
hecho la primera comunión, pero su deseo más ferviente era recibirla. Al año
siguiente, vigilia de la Ascensión, Dios obró un prodigio especial. Mientras
las religiosas daban gracias a Dios después de la comunión, apareció entre
resplandores en el aire, una hostia consagrada que fue descendiendo y se fijó
delante de la santa a la altura de su frente y allí permaneció. Las religiosas,
testigos del milagro, llaman al sacerdote, quien reconociendo la voluntad de
Dios, toma reverente la hostia y la coloca en la lengua de aquella niña. Apenas
comulgó, Imelda cruzó sobre su corazón las manos como abrazando al Señor, cerró
sus ojos y quedó como dormida en los brazos de Jesús. Mucho rato después,
cuando la priora fue a buscarla la encontró muerta pero aún arrodillada ante el
altar. Era el 12 de mayo de 1333. Fue sepultada en el mismo convento donde
murió.
La fama de este prodigio se extendió por todos lados y su culto se fue
extendiendo. Muchos milagros se cuentan desde entonces. Años después, Próspero
Lambertini, siendo Arzobispo de Bolonia, embelleció el convento de las
Dominicas y en su más bello altar colocó el cuerpo de su santa pariente.
Debido a posteriores invasiones en Italia, con saqueos de iglesias y conventos,
el cuerpo de la santa fue trasladado a la iglesia de San Segismundo, donde se
halla expuesto a la veneración de los fieles.
Su culto público fue aprobado por León XII el 20 de diciembre de 1826. Por
voluntad de San Pío X, Imelda es Patrona y modelo de los niños de Primera
Comunión. También se le ha nombrado "Abogada de la Infancia".
(Cf. Santos, Bienaventurados, Venerables de la Orden de Predicadores, Vol. 1
M.R.P.Fr. Paulino Alvarez OP.
Tip. de "El Santísimo Rosario", Vergara, 1920, pp.399-406)
SOURCE : http://www.dominicos.net/santos/beata_imelda_lambertini/imelda_index.html
