VERONICA GIULIANI, ST. – Capuchin Poor Clare nun and mystical writer, b. 1 Dec. 1660 at Mercatello, d. 9 July 1727 in the Capuchin monastery of Città di Castello, where she had entered on 17 July 1677.
The phenomena of her mystical spirituality were subjected to prolonged and rigorous examination by ecclesiastical authorities. Her love for the mystery of the Cross earned her the Stigmata (1697), and autopsy confirmed the living impression of the elements of the Passion in her heart. From 1695 to 27 Feb. 1727 V. G. was required, by obedience, to describe in minute detail in a Diary the phases and experiences of her interior life. The result was no fewer than 44 volumes, written without any artifice, which she had to hand over to her confessor without rereading them; her living mystical personality emerges vividly from an experience lived in the first person. The autographs are preserved in the monastery of Città di Castello. F. B. Dausse produced a partial edition in Italian and French: Scritti di s. V. G. cappuccina dal 1677 al 1727 (vol. I, part 2, Città di Castello 1883 and Paris 1883); Canon Annibale di Francia then printed: Un tesoro nascosto, ovvero scritti inediti di s. V. G. (Messina 1891); finally Fr. L. Pizzicaria published 8 volumes, soon translated into Spanish: Un tesoro nascosto, ossia Diario di s. V. G. (Prato 1895-1905, Barcelona 1905-1909; vols. IX and X issued in the second centenary of the Saint’s death, Città di Castello 1928). Other partial editions followed. V. G. was beatified on 12 Sept. 1802 and canonized on 26 May 1839; her feast is kept on 9 July.