VERONICA GIULIANI, SANTA. — Capuchin Poor Clare and mystical writer, b. 27 December 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 a long and rigorous examination by the ecclesiastical authorities. Her love of the mystery of the Cross earned her the Stigmata (1697), and the autopsy proved the visible impression of the elements of the Passion in her heart. From 1695 until 27 February 1727 V. G. was required, out of obedience, to describe minutely in a Diario the stages 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 mystical personality, grounded in lived experience, emerges vividly from them. The autographs are preserved in the monastery of Città di Castello. F. B. Dausse prepared 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 subsequently 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 published on the second centenary of the Saint’s death, Città di Castello 1928). Other partial editions appeared subsequently. V. G. was beatified on 12 September 1802 and canonized on 26 May 1839; feast day 9 July.