Elena Aiello (10 April 1895 – 19 June 1961) was an

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 ...

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

and the founder of the Minim Sisters of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Aiello joined the

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

of the Most Precious Blood but was forced to leave due to grave health that soon kept her confined to her home where she began experiencing visions of both

Jesus Christ 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 ...

and the Madonna as well as saints such as Francis of Paola. Her beatification was celebrated on 14 September 2011.

Life

Elena Aiello was born on 10 April 1895 during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

in Cosenza to Pasquale Aiello (22 February 1861 – 16 November 1955), a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

, and Tereseina Paglilla (d. 1905) as the third of eight children, one died at one. She received her

baptism 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 ...

from Father Francesco Benincasa on 15 April in the church of San Domenico as "Elena Emilia Santa Aiello", with her godmother being Maria Genise. During the Procession of Rogations, her mother said that if she had a daughter she would name her in honour of Helena. Her eldest sibling was Emma (b. 1889) and so followed Fernando (b. 1892), Evangelina Isabella Rosina (b. 1896), Elisa Emilia Geltrude (b. 1898) and Ida (b. 1903) in addition to two others. Aiello made her First Communion on 21 June 1904 (the

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

priest Timoteo presided over that event) after a spiritual retreat in preparation for that and she and some other girls later obtained permission to wear a penitential belt. En route to receive the belt she had an accident that saw two front teeth lost but she put them in her handkerchief and continued on the path to receive it despite the pain. Another occasion saw her inhale water from a glass she had in her hand while laughing and this caused a constant cough for over fourteen months at night and her voice volume decreased due to this; treatment made it worse. Aiello begged that the Madonna heal her and she came to her in a vision at night and assured her that it would be so. Her mother died in 1905. She received her Confirmation aged eleven from Bishop Camillo Sorgente and her sponsor was Donna Agnesina Turano. Her desire to become a religious was stalled, for her father asked her to stall this until a more appropriate time due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

which was raging in

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at the time. She instead focused on aiding refugees and on impacted victims. On one occasion she met a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

named Alessandro and failed to persuade him to receive the sacraments. She continued to persuade him, but he instead took a bottle and flung it at her which struck her neck that bled. Aiello held a cloth to it and told him his soul was in danger and would not leave the room until he called for a priest to come in. Alessandro became so moved that he told her that he would receive the sacraments if she continued to tend to him; she did so for three months. In 1920 she joined the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (her father directed her to that specific order for an unknown reason) but was later forced to leave that order due to a

necrotic Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...

shoulder. She had her shoulder operated on without anesthetic while she held a small wooden cross and looking at a Marian image but the inept doctor cut nerves that caused her lockjaw and a vomiting spell for several weeks. Aiello could not partake in the vesting, for her superior saw her situation to be so bad she could not participate in it, which forced her departure. The doctor told her father to sue the order for her ailments (her shoulder now had

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

setting in) but she convinced him not to do so. Aiello also was diagnosed with stomach cancer and could not retain even liquefied food which prompted her doctor to deem her condition incurable. She placed her faith in

Rita of Cascia Rita of Cascia, born Margherita Lotti (1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. After Rita's husband died, she joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters, whe ...

for a cure which happened. The conditions were healed all of a sudden in 1921, and Rita herself appeared to Aiello in a dream one night. Aiello began experiencing the

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

each

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

from 1923 to not long before her death. The first time that happened the Lord appeared in a white garment with the

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...

and placed it on her head prompting much blood to gush forth. The servant, Rosaria, was about to leave the house when she heard wailing and was petrified to see Aiello covered in blood believing someone murdered her. Rosaria rushed to get Aiello's relations who saw the blood but saw she was still alive and so contacted the doctor and several priests. The doctor attempted to halt the bleeding but could not do so for three hours. The sister also started experiencing visions of the Blessed Mother in 1927; she made predictions of future events following these visions. Aiello also experienced visions of

in addition to saints such as Francis of Paola and

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 Carmelit ...

. On 28 January 1928, she founded a new religious order that she named the Minim Sisters of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

knew of Aiello and was the one who issued pontifical approval for the order in July 1949. On 22 April 1940, the Lord told her to deliver a message to

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

to tell him not to join

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for such a joining would bring both terrible defeat and divine punishment upon the Italian people. A few days later on 6 May 1940 she forwarded this message to Mussolini in the form of a letter. Unfortunately the letter was ignored by Mussolini and never replied to. Aiello died at dawn at 6:19am on 19 June 1961 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

; she had received

extreme unction In the Catholic Church, the anointing of the sick, also known as Extreme Unction, is a Catholic sacrament that is administered to a Catholic "who, having reached the age of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age", except in t ...

at 2:00am. Her remains were interred in the

motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow memb ...

of her order.

Beatification

The beatification process opened on 7 January 1982.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

titled her as

venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

on 22 January 1991.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

decreed the healing to be a miracle on 2 April 2011 and thus confirmed her beatification; Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...

presided over the celebration on the pope's behalf on 14 September 2011 in Cosenza. The postulator for this cause is Enzo Gabrieli.

References

Sources

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External links

Hagiography Circle

Santi e Beati

Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiello, Elena 1895 births 1961 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI 20th-century Christian mystics Roman Catholic mystics Founders of Catholic religious communities 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Italian beatified people Italian Christian mystics Marian visionaries People from Cosenza Stigmatics Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II