Columba of Rieti, (2 February 1467 – 20 May 1501) 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 pra ...

of the Third Order of St. Dominic who was noted as a mystic. She was renowned for her spiritual counsel, devotion to the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

, and fantastic miracles were attributed to her. She was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

by 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 1625.

Life

Early life

Columba was born Angelella Guardagnoli, the daughter of a poor family in the

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

n city of Rieti. Legend states that when she was born,

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s gathered around her house, singing, and that during 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 ...

, a dove flew down to the font. From then on, no one referred to her as Angelella, but as Columba (''dove''). As a small girl, Columba learned to spin and

sew Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabri ...

repairing the clothes of the local Dominican

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 ...

s. She was educated by Dominican

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 ...

s. As a teenager, she prayed to discern her vocation in life and received a vision of Christ on a throne surrounded by saints. She took this as a sign to dedicate herself to God, and so she made a private vow of

chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...

, and spent her time in prayer. When it was revealed that her parents had arranged a marriage for her, she cut off her hair and sent it to her suitor as a way of letting him know where her real interest lay.

Eating disorder

Columba fasted regularly, a form of religiously-motivated self-starvation or abstaining from food. Anorexia mirabilis was well known in Columba's time, when it was not seen as a

medical emergency A medical emergency is an acute injury or illness that poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long-term health, sometimes referred to as a situation risking "life or limb". These emergencies may require assistance from another, qualified ...

or mental illness as it would be today, instead revered as a symbol of one's piety. Ultimately, the disease caused her death in 1501, at the age of 34. Additionally, Columba was known to engage in acts designed to cause her physical pain, such as at the wearing of a

hairshirt A cilice , also known as a sackcloth, was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) worn close to the skin. It is used by members of various Christian traditions (including the Catholic, Lutheran, A ...

and sleeping on

thorns Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

. It's possible that she may have been influenced by

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

, an earlier Italian Dominican saint, who suffered from anorexia mirabilis and died at the age of 33. Also, like Catherine, Columba cut her hair short to avoid marriage.

Religious career

Columba became a Dominican tertiary at age 19. She was reputedly given to ecstasies, during one of which her spirit toured the Holy Land. She was much sought after as a spiritual counselor. It is said that citizens from the city of

Narni Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...

tried to kidnap her so she could be ''their'' miracle worker, but she escaped. The same townsfolk were later to fight to retain their own townswoman and mystic, Lucy of Narni. Upon an interior prompting that she should leave Rieti, Columba wandered away, having no concept of where she was going. Along the way she was arrested in Foligno as a

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

. The

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

there ordered her to go to Perugia and to found a Third Order

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 ...

, which she did, but only against the strong objections of the citizens of Foligno and Rieti who wanted her for their own towns. She worked with the poor extensively in Perugia, so much so that her sanctity reportedly incensed Lucrezia Borgia for years. At one point Borgia had even issued a complaint accusing Columba of practicing magic. On the other hand, Pope Alexander VI, Lucrezia's father, held Columba in high regard. He consulted her and received a severe admonition to repent from her. Columba spent eleven years as prioress in Perugia, dying on 20 May 1501, at the age of 34. Legend says that at the moment of her death, her friend and fellow Dominican tertiary,

Osanna of Mantua Osanna of Mantua (also Hosanna) (17 January 1449 – 18 June 1505) was an Italian Dominican tertiary who gained notice as a stigmatic and mystic. Life Osanna was the daughter of the nobles Niccolò Andreasi, whose family had originated in ...

, saw Columba's soul as a "radiance rising to heaven." The whole city turned out for her funeral, which was paid for by the city fathers. She was beatified on 25 February 1625 by Pope Urban VIII, and her feast day is celebrated within the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

on the anniversary of her death.

Notes and references

;References ;Works cited * * *

External links