BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

Gemma Galgani increased daily, and with the extension of this devotion to her, the graces and prodigies with
which God deigned to confirm the sanctity of His Servant also increased in number. In 1909 a collection of
her letters and ecstasies was published and they were accorded an equally enthusiastic reception.
We quote here the following note from the third edition of Pensieri di Gemma Galgani, published in 1926. 'In
order to give a fairly accurate idea of the esteem in which Gemma is held by the people, it is enough to say
that to satisfy the continual and repeated demands made by her admirers, the Printing Company of the
Institute of Pius IX, not to speak of others, published at Rome in six years (1907-1912) 52,000 copies of her
Life, 8,200 copies of Lettere ed estasi, besides a million small pictures of her. We shall not speak of the
biography published in Naples by Doctor F. Donato, nor of the little work entitled Gemma Galgani, published
by the Most Rev. Father Giovanardi, O.F.M., nor even of the short sketch of her life published by the Unione
Biellese. In 1919 at Asti, Canon Laurence Gentile brought out still another biography. It must not be thought,
however, that all these expressions of esteem and veneration were confined to Italy. The name of Gemma
Galgani is known throughout Europe, particularly in Spain, France, England, Belgium, Holland, Germany and
Switzerland. Her Life has been written in, or translated into, the languages of these countries and published
again and again. . . . From North and South America, from China and Japan, requests for pictures of Blessed
Gemma and relics of her, reach the Postulator of her Cause, together with monetary offerings to cover the
expenses of her Beatification. Her Life has been published also in Chinese and Japanese."
The circulation figures mentioned above need to be corrected. By 1929 71,000 copies of the Italian edition of
the large biography had been sold, 87,000 copies of the smaller biography, and 46,000 copies of a still
smaller sketch of her life. The collection of her letters and ecstasies had reached a fifth edition. Biographies
of her had also appeared in Portuguese, Romanian and other languages.
We must not omit to mention the excellent Life which has gone through many editions, written with so much
enthusiasm by her fellow-citizen and contemporary, Sister Gesualda, a Carmelite of the Convent of St. Mary
Magdalen de' Pazzi at Florence, who had been the first to introduce St. Therese of Lisieux to the Italian
public by her translation of the Histoire d'une dame.
We shall not quote the long and enthusiastic references to Blessed Gemma in religious magazines and
periodicals in Italy, Spain, France, England, Ireland, Holland and Germany, in North and South America. But
we cannot omit to mention that the Civita Cattolica of 1922 did not hesitate to declare that Gemma Galgani,
Therese of Lisieux and Bernadette Soubirous were three souls who lived like Angels in this valley of tears
and who now were joined in a true apostolate.
The words of Cardinal Gasquet in his Introduction to the English translation of Father Germanus's biography,
are well worth quoting: [Life of Gemma Galgani, by Father Germanus, C.P. Sands & Co]
‘The story of Gemma Galgani will well repay perusal, for though it is merely the narrative of the life of a
young girl born . . . in our own times, it would, I think, be hard to find another such wonderful record of the
dealings of Almighty God with a soul that had given itself entirely to the leadings of Divine Grace. To us who
live in this most materialistic age of reason alone . . . when the supernatural is being denied altogether, or
held up to so called criticism is declared to be at best doubtful, it is useful and refreshing to have a book like
this to read, which brings before us God very near indeed to our world. . . . Personally I do not know of the
life of any saint in any age of the Church which has brought home the supernatural to my mind more plainly
and fully than Father Germanus's story of the life of Gemma Galgani....
'The life here printed I look upon as one of those helps which are given to us from time to time to assist our
Faith, and to bring God nearer to our souls. It is quite impossible, or at least it seems so to me, for any
Catholic to read these pages without deep feelings of thankfulness that Almighty God has manifested
Himself in such a truly marvelous way in the person of this saintly girl even in these our own days. . . . Of
course those who are not of the" Household of the Faith" will probably be skeptical about the whole account,
and the words " fraud" and " hysteria" will be taken by many to explain satisfactorily the strange phenomena
here recorded. . . . Catholics who believe that God is ever with the world He has created . . . may well thank
Him for this manifestation of the power of His Grace in the Life of Gemma Galgani, which brings so clearly
before us the fact that the supernatural world is as sure, as real, and as near to us as the world of which our
senses tell us. God is indeed "wonderful in His Saints."’
GEMMA IN HEAVEN -AN APOSTLE IN PAGAN LANDS
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