Maria Consolata Betrone (6 April 1903 – 18 July 1946),

baptised 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 inv ...

as Pierina Maria Betrone, commonly known as Consolata Betrone, was a

Catholic 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 ...

mystic and nun of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Capuchine The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

order. Betrone was born in Saluzzo, Piedmont,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in a middle-class family. She died at the convent of Moriondo, Testona, Italy. Consolata Betrone was known for the intense propagation of the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

, along with reputed apparitions by the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

and her

guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...

in 1916 during the

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. The reputed messages asked for the recitation of: "Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save Souls!", a prayer which Betrone said to release souls from

Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

and to pardon 1000 blasphemies against the

. The pious devotion is very popular among Filipino and Portuguese Catholics, who include invocations in their recitation of the rosary along with the

Fatima Prayer Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Khadija. Fati ...

Life

Pierina Betrone was the daughter of Pietro Betrone and Giuseppina Nirino, the owners of a bakery in Saluzzo (Cuneo) and then managers of a restaurant in Airasco (Turin). Pierina was the second of six daughters born of her father's second marriage.''A Life For Love'', Monastery of the Sacred Heart
/ref> She joined the association of the Company of the Daughters of Mary in parish of San Massimo in Turin. She also became involved in the local

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 ...

group. After a visit to the tomb of

Don Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

in Valsalice, Pierina decided it was time to embark on a religious vocation. Her reading of ''The Story of a Soul'' attracted her to

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (french: Thérèse de Lisieux ), born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (), was a French Catholic Discalced Carmelite ...

's "little way". On 26 January 1925, she joined the

Daughters of Mary Help of Christians , image = Maria Dominika Mazzarello jpg..jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = Maria Mazzarello: Founder , abbreviation = FMA , founder = Saint Sr. Maria Domenica Mazzarello, , type ...

, but after a little over a year, she became convinced that this was not her calling. She then tried a community founded by

Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo or Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (3 May 1786 – 30 April 1842) was the founder of the and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Early life Joseph Benedict Cottolengo was born on May 3, 1786, into a middle-cla ...

, but returned to her family in August 1928 and continues her work with the Catholic Action. The superior of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd of Angers suggested that she might join the Franciscans.Risso, Paolo. ''Sister Consolata Betrone'', 2001
/ref> On 28 February 1930, Betrone joined the Capuchins in Turin, taking the name ''Maria Consolata''. (The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated in Turin under the name of Consolata, i.e., Consoler of the Afflicted.) There, she served, among other duties, as cook and concierge. She purportedly experienced

interior locutions An interior locution is a mystical concept used by various religions. An interior locution is a form of private revelation, but is distinct from an apparition, or religious vision. An interior locution may be defined as "A supernatural communicati ...

with Christ. In 1938, Betrone was assigned to the new monastery of Moriondo (Testona-Turin) not far from the Turin-Genoa railway, which the Capuchins have just opened. In November 1945, Betrone was hospitalized in a sanatorium; her condition being diagnosed as terminal, she returned to the monastery of Moriondo on 3 July 1946. Consolata Betrone died at the age of forty-three on July 18, 1946. After her death, Lorenzo Sales wrote the book ''Jesus Appeals to the World'' based on her reported messages. Betrone is known for her prayer: "Jesus, Mary, I love you: Save souls". Betrone spent her life attempting to bring to perfection this Tiny Way of Love. She used to fight every thought, every word, every emotion, to keep unceasing her "Jesus, Mary, save souls" all day long. In 1995, Cardinal

Giovanni Saldarini Giovanni Saldarini (11 December 1924 – 18 April 2011) was an Italian Cardinal and Archbishop of Turin. Early life Saldarini was born in Cantù in the Italian province of Como, in Lombardy. He was educated at St Peter Martyr Seminary in ...

started the canonical process of beatification for Maria Consolata Betrone. On April 6, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognising the heroic virtues of Betrone giving her the title Venerable. Significantly, April 6 is also the date of her birth.

References

External links

Sister Consolata Betrone - official website

''Jesus Appeals to the World: From the Writings of Sr. Consolata Betrone''
*Book: The Littlest Way of Love http://www.consolatabetrone-monasterosacrocuore.it/page/ENG/libri/Book_The-Littlest-Way-of-Love.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Betrone, Consolata 1903 births 1946 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics Angelic visionaries Capuchins Italian Christian mystics 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Roman Catholic mystics Women mystics Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis