Benvenuta Bojani (4 May 1254 - 30 October 1292) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. Bojani dedicated her life to strict austerities as an act of repentance and devotion to God and was known to have visions of angels and demons. The confirmation of the late Bojani's local 'cultus' (or popular devotion) allowed for Pope Clement XIV to approve her beatification in 1763.

Life

Benvenuta Bojani was born in the Republic of Venice in 1254 as the last of seven daughters. The midwife declared she was a girl to her father's disappointment - who wanted a son - but instead said with part cheer: "She too shall be welcome!" Bojani was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in her name for it meant 'welcome' due to her father's words at her birth. Bojani refused to participate in childhood games that dabbled in worldliness or vainness for she remained a pious child devoted to the service of God rather than to the secular world. But one vain older sister tried and failed to teach her to dress in rich clothing and indulge in pleasures that her sister refused to do. In 1266 she began to wear a hair net and a rope girdle as signs of austerities she began to undertake but as she grew the girdle began to cut into her and had to be removed. The girdle could not be removed because it was far too embedded for it to be untied but after turning to God the rope fell to her feet. In her adolescence she became a professed member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic and lived her entire life at home to continue practicing her austerities. Bojani became ill due to long periods of fasting and lack of sleep and was confined to her bed for five years and had to be carried to Mass; one kind older sister carried her to church at least once a week for the celebration of

compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wo ...

. During the celebration of Mass on the eve of the feast of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

near the tomb of the saint in the

Basilica of San Domenico The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers ( Dominicans), are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and hi ...

in Bologna the saint himself - alongside Saint Peter - appeared to her and she was healed during the Mass. Bojani saw the saint's face take the place of the prior's face when compline commenced; the saint then went to his tomb and disappeared while the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

came down the aisle with the Infant Jesus and blessed all priests present. This moment of apparitions was when she was healed of her ailment. Bojani received angelic and demonic visions and could banish the demons after mentioning the name of the Madonna. Bojani died on 30 October 1292 and was interred in the church of Saint Dominic in her hometown.

Beatification

Her beatification received approval from Pope Clement XIV - on 6 February 1763 - after the pontiff confirmed the longstanding local 'cultus' (or popular devotion) to the late religious.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bojani, Benvenuta 1254 births 1292 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 13th-century Christian mystics Angelic visionaries Dominican beatified people Dominican mystics Dominican tertiaries Italian beatified people Italian Dominicans Lay Dominicans Italian Christian mystics People from Cividale del Friuli Roman Catholic mystics Third Order of Saint Dominic Venerated Dominicans Beatifications by Pope Clement XIV