Calvisano, lapide alla beata Cristina Semenzi.
Bienheureuse Christine de Spolete
Fille d'un médecin de Lugano (+ 1458)
Elle commença par une jeunesse frivole, c'est le moins qu'on puisse dire. Et puis, elle découvrit les exigences du Christ, se convertit et voulut expier avec de grandes mortifications. Elle mourut à Spolète. Elle avait vingt-trois ans.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/5699/Bienheureuse-Christine-de-Spolete.html
Tomba della Beata Cristina Semenzi da Calvisano. Chiesa di San Gregorio Maggiore. Spoleto
Blessed Christine of Spoleto
February 13
Agostina Camozzi was the daughter of a well-known doctor in Ostenso in the Italian province of Como. A graceful and attractive young woman, she married at an early age but within a short time was left widowed. In a second relationship she suffered the loss of her only child, a son. A subsequent marriage left her widowed again, this time at the hands of a jealous rival. In about 1450 Agostina underwent a serious conversion, became an Augustinian Tertiary, and changed her name to that of Christine. Her life now was to be one of penance, prayer, and the works of mercy. She lived in various Augustinian convents, moving from one to another, in order to remain in obscurity as best she could. In 1457 she undertook a pilgrimage with the intention of visiting Assisi, Rome and Jerusalem. Together with another tertiary she arrived in Spoleto in the province of Perugia where she devoted herself to the care of the sick and where she died on February 13, 1458, not yet 30 years of age. Her body was interred in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto, which at the time belonged to the Augustinians. Her reputation as a woman of holiness and a worker of numerous miracles caused devotion to Christine to spread quickly and widely. Gregory XVI confirmed her cult in 1834, proclaiming her blessed.
Blessed Christine reminds us that even the possession of good and worthy things in life may not bring us the security and happiness we seek. Our certain and dependable hope is in God. Disappointment and misfortune will not defeat us if we are rooted in him.
SOURCE : http://augustinians.net/index.php?page=christinespoleto_en
Blessed Christine of Spoleto
February 13
Blessed Christine of Spoleto (d. 1458), after several
years of living contrary to God's ways, gave herself to Jesus, became an
Augustinian Tertiary and gained a reputation as a holy woman and
miracle-worker.
Born Agostina Camozzi in Osteno, Como, Italy, whe was
the daughter of a well-known doctor. While still young, she married a stone
cutter, who died a short time later.
Agostina then lived as the mistress of a soldier. She
gave birth to an out-of-wedlock son. This child died at an early age.
She married again. This husband was murdered by a
jealous rival.
After this, Agostina decided to reform her life. She
turned to Christ and became an Augustinian Tertiary. She decided to change her
name to Christina, reflecting the primary place that Christ now occupied in her
life.
She lived in several Augustinian convents, finally
settling in Spoleto, devoting herself to prayer, penance and works of mercy.
She developed a reputation for great holiness and as a worker of miracles.
Christine set off in 1457 on a pilgrimage that was to
take her to the Holy Sepulchre. However, she was unable to go beyond Spoleto,
where she died February 13, 1458. Her remains were originally preserved in
Spoleto at the former Augustinian church of St. Nicholas. Later her body was
moved to the Church of Saint Gregory the Great.
Pope Gregory XVI declared her Blessed in 1834.
SOURCE : https://www.midwestaugustinians.org/bl-christine-of-spoleto/
Also known as
Agostina Camozzi
Christina Camozzi
Christina Visconti (a mispelling that has been
perpetuated in several accounts)
Christine…
Profile
Daughter of a physician. Married to a stone cutter, but widowed very young. She became mistress to asoldier, and bore his son, but the child died as an infant. Married a second time, she was widowed when the man was killed in a fight with a jealous rival. Realizing that her life was completely out of control, she had a conversion, became an Augustinian tertiary, took the name Christina, gave herself over to Christ, and imposed severe austerities on herself as penance for her earlier ways. Lived in a number of Augustinianconvents, became known as a miracle worker, and was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre when she died.
Born
1435 at
Lake Lugano, Italy as Agostina
Camozzi
13
February 1458 in Spoleto, Italy of
natural causes
buried at
the Augustinian church
of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto
re-interred at
the church of Saint Gregory the Great in Spoleto
1834 by Pope Gregory
XVI (cultus
confirmed)
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-christina-of-spoleto/
Blessed Christine of Spoleto (1435-1458)
According to The
Westcoast Augustinians:
" Blessed Christine, a woman of undaunted valor, provides a shining example of conversion.
Agostina Camozzi, who was born about the year 1435, was the daughter of a well-known doctor of Ostenso, a small village in the Italian province of Como. At a very young age she married a local stonecutter, contrary to the wishes of her family, but was left a widow within a short time. She later became the mistress of a soldier and bore him a son, who died at a young age. A subsequent marriage to a farmer from Mantua also ended tragically when he met his death at the hands of a jealous rival.
At this point Agostina set about to reform her way of life. She became a member of the Augustinian Third Order, and changed her name to Christine, and moved to Verona. Her resolve now was to imitate Christ who alone, she believed, could bring comfort to her troubled spirit.
Her life of penance took many forms, and her prayers and works of mercy increased daily. As an Augustinian tertiary she lived in various monasteries, leaving one after another when the sisters, perceiving her holiness, began to treat her with special reverence. Thus she wandered from one community to another until she finally settled in Spoleto, where she dedicated herself to the care of the sick. In 1457 she planned a pilgrimage of reparation to Assisi, Rome, and the Holy Land, but she never got beyond Spoleto, for there on 13 February in 1458 she died, at the age of twenty-two.
After her death many miracles were attributed to her intercession, and Christine's reputation for great holiness and granting of favors spread rapidly. Her remains, originally kept in the Augustinian church of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto, are now preserved in the church of St. Gregory the Great. In 1834 Pope Gregory XVI officially confirmed her long-standing cult.
Blessed Christine's feast in celebrated by the Augustinian
Family on 13 February."
The 11th-century Romanesque church of San Gregorio Maggiore in Spoleto replaced an earlier oratory in a cemetery of Christian martyrs. Remains from the 700s AD are incorporated into the present structure.
A 1950s restoration carefully returned the interior to
its medieval state, removing most Baroque additions to reveal the Romanesque
architecture and large patches of 14th-century frescoes by local artists.
In 1999, the body of the Blessed christine was subjected to scientific examination. The report in English by the scientific team which carried out the investigation is interesting.
It would appear that after death the body was subjected to an artificial process of embalming. It is one of the first examples of artificial embalming in Western Europe, carried out by surgical methods. It discusses the practice in medieval times in Umbria and Tuscany of embalming and preserving the bodies of saints or those reputed to be saints.
It would appear that the bone structure of Blessed christine reveals an individual of small skeletal constitution, and the deep folds of the skin witness a condition of severe obesity. All the teeth are present, but show evident lines of enamel hypoplasia, due to episodes of stress during childhood.
The report goes on:
"In this respect, the following distinguishing elements should be underlined: 1)geographical area of diffusion which includes Umbria and Tuscany; 2) urban characterization of the phenomenon; 3) social and religious ambience: the mendicant orders and in particular the third orders, formed by laymen; 4) prevalent female dimension of the phenomenon.
We can try to explain historically these characteristic
elements that in part are closely related. Why were the charismatic
personalities of religious figures, already considered “saints” at the moment
of death, preserved with interventions of evisceration and stripping of flesh?
There could be no doubts about the preservation of these bodies: in fact the
preserved body became a tangible witness of the presence of the saint for
protection of the town community. It was not by chance that this phenomenon
occurred in central Italy, between Umbria and Tuscany, where municipal
civilization developed and where in any case a strong sense of municipal
independence was strongly radicated. Possession of a saint’s body, which could
be identified in its features, was a reason of pride, political symbol proper,and
in this respect it is important that the funerals of the Blessed Cristina were
celebrated at the expense of the Municipality of Spoleto.
However, the intervention of the municipal public authority can also be found in other well documented cases, as in the funerally and embalming processes of Saint Margherita from Cortona and of Blessed Margherita from Città di Castello.In this second case we even know the names of surgeons told by “rectores Civitatis Castelli”: magister Vitale da Castello and magister Manno da Gubbio (Analecta Bollandiana, 19).
The penitential movements which developed in the Italian society of the Late Middle Ages under the influence of Franciscan and Dominican rule brought new mystic and religious ferment and between the 13th and 15th centuries produced new figures of saints, often belonging to the Third Order circles, laymen operating among the people.
The women in these orders are numerous, becoming more
and more visible and popular. The corporeal dimension, owing to the
physical involvement of mystical union, now gains more importance than in the
past, and justifies the new attention to preservation of corpses which leads to
direct invasiveness on the holy body."
SOURCE : http://idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com/2008/11/blessed-christine-of-spoleto-1435-1458.html
Beata Cristina da Spoleto
c. 1432 - 1458
Agostina Camozzi, figlia di un medico, nacque a Osteno (Como). Ebbe un’esistenza molto travagliata. Dopo diverse e contrastanti vicende affettive, intraprese un cammino di conversione e di penitenza per rinnovare profondamente la sua vita. Si recò a Verona dove, decisa a seguire Cristo, assunse il nome di Cristina e si consacrò come agostiniana secolare. La sua conversione fu totale: dedicò la sua vita ad una penitenza eccezionale, alle opere di carità, alla preghiera. Nel 1457 iniziò un lungo pellegrinaggio verso Assisi, Roma e in Palestina. Sulla via del ritorno, giunta a Spoleto, vi morì il 13 febbraio 1458 con fama di santità, confermata dai miracoli. I suoi resti mortali si conservano a Spoleto nella chiesa di San Nicolò, un tempo degli agostiniani. Il suo culto venne confermato nel 1834 da Gregorio XVI. La beata Cristina è un esempio di penitenza e di umiltà per il laicato.
Martirologio Romano: A Spoleto in Umbria, beata Cristina (Agostina) Camozzi, che, dopo la morte del marito, indulse per qualche tempo alla concupiscenza della carne, per abbracciare poi nell’Ordine secolare di Sant’Agostino una vita di penitenza, dedita alla preghiera e al servizio dei malati e dei poveri.
L'inizio della vita di questa singolare figura di donna può benissimo collocarsi quando intorno al 1450 decise di cambiare vita e, abbandonando la famiglia e i luoghi nei quali aveva vissuto, vestì l’abito delle Agostiniane secolari.
Da quel momento la sua esistenza fu un pellegrinaggio permanente alla ricerca di un luogo ove vivere nell'oblio. Dimorò presso alcuni monasteri agostiniani non rimanendo mai a lungo in nessuno di essi. La vita di preghiera, le mortificazioni, ma soprattutto le opere di misericordia verso i bisognosi, la costringevano ad allontanarsi ogni qual volta si accorgeva che era oggetto di attenzione.
Desiderosa di poter visitare i luoghi santi di Assisi e di Roma, per potersi poi spingere fino alla Terra Santa, in compagnia di un'altra terziaria, giunse a Spoleto dove soggiornò per un breve periodo, dedicandosi alla cura dei malati nell'ospedale cittadino. Dopo aver vissuto intensamente la sua nuova vita per alcuni anni, forse ancora ventenne, morì nel 1458.
Su queste notizie c'è accordo tra gli agiografi. Non così per il tempo precedente alla sua eroica decisione di fuggire dal mondo restando nel mondo, motivo per cui è conosciuta sotto varie denominazioni. Alcuni la ritengono appartenente alla famiglia dei Visconti di Milano o a quella dei Semenzi di Calvisano in Brescia. Per loro la fuga sarebbe stata motivata dal desiderio di liberarsi di quanti la volevano maritare contro i propri desideri e ideali. Altri la presentano col nome di Agostina, nata nei pressi del lago di Lugano verso il 1432-35, figlia del medico Giovanni Carrozzi e sposata ancora fanciulla con un artigiano del luogo. Rimasta presto vedova, avrebbe avuto una relazione con un cavaliere milanese dalla quale nacque un figlio morto bambino. Risposatasi perse il marito ucciso da un soldato invaghitosi di lei.
Il suo corpo venne sepolto a spese del comune di Spoleto nella chiesa agostiniana di S. Niccolò. Numerose grazie e miracoli attribuiti alla sua intercessione contribuirono ad accrescere e diffondere il culto sorto immediatamente dopo la sua morte, che Gregorio XVI ratificò nel 1834, proclamandola beata.
La sua memoria liturgica ricorre il 13 febbraio.
Autore: P. Bruno Silvestrini O.S.A.
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90152
Beata CRISTINA DA SPOLETO
1432 - 1458
di Ferdinando Rojo O.S.A.
L'inizio della vita di questa singolare figura di donna può benissimo collocarsi nel momento in cui ella, intorno al 1450 o qualche anno più tardi, decise di cambiare vita e, abbandonando la famiglia e i luoghi nei quali aveva vissuto, vestì l'abito delle agostiniane secolari. Di lei si sapeva solo che era giovanissima, bella, che diceva di chiamarsi Cristina e che desiderava ardentemente mettersi alla sequela di Cristo. Da quel momento la sua esistenza fu un pellegrinaggio permanente alla ricerca di un luogo ove vivere nell'oblio. Dimorò presso alcuni monasteri agostiniani non rimanendo mai a lungo in nessuno.
La vita di preghiera, le mortificazioni, ma soprattutto le opere di misericordia verso i bisognosi la costringevano ad allontanarsi ogni qual volta si accorgeva che era oggetto di attenzione. Desiderosa di poter visitare i luoghi santi di Assisi e di Roma per potersi poi spingere fino alla Terrasanta, in compagnia di un'altra terziaria, giunse a Spoleto dove soggiornò per un breve periodo dedicandosi alla cura dei malati nell'ospedale cittadino. Dopo aver vissuto intensamente la sua nuova vita per alcuni anni, forse ancora ventenne, morì nel 1458. Su queste notizie c'è accordo tra gli agiografi. Non così per il tempo precedente alla sua eroica decisione di fuggire dal mondo restando nel mondo, motivo per cui è conosciuta sotto varie denominazioni. Alcuni la ritengono appartenente alla famiglia dei Visconti di Milano o a quella dei Semenzi di Calvisano in Brescia.
Per loro la fuga sarebbe stata motivata dal desiderio di liberarsi di quanti la volevano maritare contro i propri desideri e ideali. Altri la presentano col nome di Agostina, nata nei pressi del lago di Lugano verso il 1432-35, figlia del medico Giovanni Camozzi e sposata ancora fanciulla con un artigiano del luogo. Rimasta presto vedova, avrebbe avuto una relazione con un cavaliere milanese dalla quale nacque un figlio morto bambino. Risposata si vide uccidere il marito da un soldato invaghitosi di lei. Visconti, Semenzi o Camozzi ?
Modello di vita intemerata o di convertita? La risposta Cristina la portò con sé nella tomba. Il suo corpo venne sepolto a spese del comune di Spoleto nella chiesa agostiniana di S. Niccolò. Numerose grazie e miracoli attribuiti alla sua intercessione, contribuirono ad accrescere e diffondere il culto sorto immediatamente dopo la sua morte, che Gregorio XVI ratificò nel 1834, proclamandola beata.
Acta SS. Februarii II, Venetiis 1735, 799-802; Sacra Rituum Congregatione. Approbationis cultus ab immemorabili tempore praestiti Ven. Servae Dei Christianae de Vicecomitibus, tertiariae OESA., Romae 1834; MOTTA E., La b. Cristiana di Spoleto era del lago di Lugano, in Boll. Sto. della Svizzera italiana 15 (1893) 84-93; CONCETTI N., OSA., De B. Christina a Spoleto, terziaria, in AA. VV. (1914) 457-65; GUERRINI P., Intorno alla b. Cristina di Spoleto, erroneamente chiamata b. Cristina Semenzi di Calvisano, in Brixia sacra VII (1916) 140-68; DEL RE N., Cristina da Spoleto, beata, in BS. IV; Roma 1964 (rist. 1987), c. 341.
SOURCE : http://www.cassiciaco.it/navigazione/monachesimo/agiografia/beati/spoleto.html
