Paola Gambara Costa (3 March 1463 - 24 January 1515) 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 ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

professed member of the

Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many married men and women to w ...

. She was born to nobles and married in 1475 to the nobleman Lodovico Antonio Costa - and had one child - who soon acquired a mistress and chastised her for her generous nature towards the poor and ill. Her husband later repented and died leaving her widowed and she died not long after this. Gambara desired to become a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

but complied with the desire of her parents to embrace marriage and so dedicated herself to serving her husband while at the same time learning to detest his excessive lavishness and the pomp of his noble court. Her friend and confessor was Angelo Carletti whom she and her husband later attributed the latter's cure to. Her beatification received formal confirmation from

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...

on 14 August 1845 after the latter ratified that there existed a spontaneous and enduring local 'cultus' - or longstanding and popular veneration.

Life

Paola Gambara Costa was born on 3 March 1463 in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

as the first of seven children to the nobles Giampaolo Gambara and Taddea Caterina Martinengo. Her following siblings included: * Marietta - later a

* Ippolita - a mother of fourteen children * Laura - a widow who dedicated herself to the care of the ill * Federico * Lodovico * Maddalena In her childhood she delighted in spiritual reading and reflection on the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and harbored an ardent desire to become a nun later in life. But this dream was cut short when her parents decided to arrange her marriage to Count Lodovico Antonio Costa - the Lord of Benasco - and she saw this as the will of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

manifesting itself and so complied with the wishes of her parents. Her confessor prior to her marriage was Father Andrea da Quinzano of the Sant'Apollonio

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

in Brescia. The marriage came about after Count Bongiovanni Costa visited her parents and was struck with her virtue and so wanted her as his nephew Lodovico Antonio's wife. Her decision to be a nun concerned the count who sent her to Angelo Carletti - a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

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 partic ...

- who persuaded her that marriage was a call from God to embrace a different kind of life still in accordance with Christian values. The pair married in autumn 1485 and the pair travelled to the small Benasco province for the ensuring celebrations. She endured her new husband's expensive tastes seeing it as her role to be faithful to him even if she did not live the excessive luxuries. In spring 1486 the couple visited

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 ...

and Alessandria before setting off for Asti. The two also visited

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

where the duke received them. Her confessor around this time was Father Crescenzio Morra from Bene though she later reconnected with Carletti who became her friend and spiritual advisor as well as a confessor. Carletti kept her on the path of virtue and advised her to enroll in the

while learning to appreciate the poor and to detest the lavishness of the secular world. She joined in 1491 with the permission of her husband. Gambara often deprived herself of food in order to bring it to the sick and on one occasion took off her shoes and gave it to an old woman who walked barefoot over ice and snow on one occasion during

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

. Gambara also became the godmother of Yolande in 1487 who was the daughter of Duke Charles I and Bianca di Monferrato. In 1488 she gave birth to her sole child Giovanni Francesco and named him in honor of Francis of Assisi. To mark this occasion she managed to persuade her husband to distribute large amounts of food to the poor of their area. Her actions soon vexed her husband who reproached her for her conduct and ridiculed her in front of their servants and the servants followed their master's example and joined in ridiculing their mistress. Costa soon acquired a mistress - the daughter of the Podestà of Carrù - and he allowed her to live in the castle in 1494 even though Gambara resided there. In 1495 her son left for

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torine ...

for his education and Father Carletti died on 11 April 1495. She attended his funeral in

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

- he died at the convent of Sant'Antonio - but fell ill there. Following this she suffered strong migraines. In 1500 she reunited with her parents and siblings when she returned to her hometown on a brief visit. In 1504 the mistress fell ill with abdominal pains and it was Gambara who comforted her and forgave her as she died. Also in 1504 her son - now a page - returned to his home and a grand banquet was celebrated for him. Her husband later repented and approved her good works and also consented to her wearing the habit of her order in public. Costa became ill in 1504 and she began to tend to him. The two travelled to Cuneo to ask for the intercession of her former confessor Carletti and when her husband was healed attributed the healing to him - Costa celebrated a banquet in commemoration of this and undertook a pilgrimage to the priest's grave in thanksgiving with his wife at his side. This was short-lived for her husband died not long after in 1504. On 14 January 1515 she was struck with an extreme

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

that caused her great pain and she died on 24 January 1515 in the town of

Binasco Binasco ( lmo, Binasch ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,236 and an area of .All demographics and other s ...

after having confessed and received 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 ...

for the final time.

Beatification

Her beatification received formal ratification on 14 August 1845 once

issued a decree that recognized that there existed an enduring and longstanding local 'cultus' - otherwise known as popular veneration and devotion - that endured through the centuries after her death and was a spontaneous devotion rather than something that evolved over time.

References

External links

Catholic.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Paola Gambara 1463 births 1515 deaths 15th-century venerated Christians 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 16th-century venerated Christians 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Beatifications by Pope Gregory XVI Franciscan beatified people Italian Franciscans Italian beatified people 15th-century Italian nobility Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis Religious leaders from Brescia Venerated Catholics