Carmela Carabelli, born Carmelina Negri (

Melegnano Melegnano (formerly Marignano; lmo, Meregnan ) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Milan, region of Lombardy. The town lies southeast of the city of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 2 ...

, May 9, 1910 –

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, November 25, 1978), better known as Mamma Carmela (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Mother Carmela''), was a spiritual daughter of

Pio of Pietrelcina Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and as Saint Pius of Pietrelcina ( it, Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 188723 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a s ...

and a famous

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

mystic.

Biography

Early life

Carmelina Negri was born in the May 9, 1910, the daughter of Gaetano Negri and Teresa Galbiati. She was integrated in the

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Ita ...

movement, in which, through its enormous enthusiasm and eventually influenced by some members of her family, who accompanied her on the growth of living the faith in the spirit of prayer, the love for

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

, the devotion to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

and service to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1926, she completed her studies and began work in a bank. She met Giuseppe Carabelli, a virtuous and modest young man whom she married on January 23, 1935. They had both always wanted a large family who could convey the "Good News" of a higher love, like that of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. Within her large family she came to be called by the diminutive and tender name of "Mamma" Carmela.

In mid-September 1950, Carmela Carabelli made a trip to the convent of

San Giovanni Rotondo San Giovanni Rotondo is the name of a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia and region of Apulia, in southern Italy. San Giovanni Rotondo was the home of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina from 28 July 1916 until his death on 23 September 1968. T ...

where she met the supposedly stigmatized Capuchin

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. She defined this trip as being "memorable" and it further increased her love for prayer and desire to do good. Carabelli became soon after one of Padre Pio's spiritual daughters.

Spiritual writings

Carabelli in her spiritual writings revealed her interior locutions with Jesus in which he allegedly supplied some mysteries about his life, about God the Father as the father of all mankind; about the Virgin Mary, who in turn spoke on the person of

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, among other divine mysteries. Through this privileged personality, Carabelli began to travel the world. Her writings were already translated into major languages and distributed in several countries.

Death and burial

In October 1978, Carabelli suffered serious health problems but recovered in hospital in

. However, the following month, after receiving the sacrament of

Holy Viaticum Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part ...

, on November 25, 1978, she died. She is buried in the

Monumental Cemetery of Milan The Cimitero Monumentale (" Monumental Cemetery") is one of the two largest cemeteries in Milan, Italy, the other one being the Cimitero Maggiore. It is noted for the abundance of artistic tombs and monuments. Designed by the architect Carlo Ma ...

(Section 72 B, ref. 1855).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carabelli, Carmela 1910 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics Italian Christian mystics Italian women writers Italian Roman Catholics Visions of Jesus and Mary Roman Catholic mystics Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano

Biography

Early life

Spiritual writings

Death and burial

Further reading

See also

References