Blessed

Imelda Lambertini
Virgin
Born1322
Bologna, Italy
Died12 May 1333 (age 11)
Valdipietra, Bologna
Resting placeBologna, Italy
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Beatified20 December 1826, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Leo XII
Major shrineSan Sigismondo Church, Bologna, Italy
Feast13 May
AttributesWearing first communion dress, chapel veil with attached to a chaplet of flowers on her head and rosary.
PatronageFirst Communicants

Imelda Lambertini (1322 – 12 May 1333) was an Italian Catholic mystic and devotee of the Dominican Order. She is the patroness of First Communicants and many dioceses make use of her feast has a day to schedule First Communions and Confirmations.

Biography

Imelda Lambertini was born in 1322 in Bologna, the only child of Count Egano Lambertini[1] and Castora Galuzzi. Her parents were devout Catholics and were known for their charity and generosity to the underprivileged of Bologna. On her fifth birthday, she requested to receive the Eucharist; however the custom at the time was that children did not receive their First Communion until age 14.

At age nine, she went to live with the Dominican nuns at Val di pietra, near Bologna.[2]

On 12 May 1333, the day of the vigil of the Ascension, she knelt in prayer and the "Light of the Host" was reportedly witnessed above her head by the Sacristan, who then fetched the priest so he could see. After seeing this miracle, the priest felt compelled to admit her to receiving the Eucharist. Immediately after receiving it, Imelda went back to her seat, and decided to stay after Mass and pray. Later when a nun came to get her for supper, she found her still kneeling with a smile on her face. The nun called her name, but she did not stir, so she lightly tapped Imelda on the shoulder, at which time Imelda collapsed to the floor, dead. Her remains are kept in Bologna at the Church of San Sigismondo, beneath the wax effigy of her likeness.

The cultus of Lambertini has grown so popular that a confraternity for First Communicants has been established in her honor and the last Eucharistc Congress held in Bergamo passed a petition for her canonization.[3]

Beatification

Lambertini's spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 8 June 1891, 13 March 1894, and 19 March 1895. Her cause was formally opened on 11 December 1897, granting her the title of Servant of God.[4]

Lambertini was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1826.

References

  1. ↑ ""Blessed Lambertini", Society of Blessed Imelda Lambertini". Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Bl. Imelda Lambertini", Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecelia
  3. ↑ "Blessed Imelda Lambertini". www.roman-catholic-saints.com. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  4. ↑ Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953. p. 98.
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