BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

Gemma had not even heard of St. Gabriel.
'In the beginning I was acquainted with neither Gemma nor her family, though I often heard a certain chemist
named Galgani spoken of. The first time I heard the family mentioned was when Gemma was sick and her
aunts sent to me to ask for a relic of St. Gabriel who was then only Venerable. I did not know the aunts to
speak to then, but I sent the relic and some pictures of the saint. I had lent the Life of St. Gabriel to Signora
Martinucci, who is now dead, and she sent to ask me if she might lend it to a sick girl who was very anxious
to have it. I agreed and she kept it for some months. When it was not returned I asked Signora Martinucci to
get it for me. I found out afterwards that Gemma felt the parting with it so much that she wept.'
Another visitor who saw Gemma frequently was her former school teacher, Sister Julia Sestini. She deposed
in the Processes:
‘At the unveiling of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, about 1899, I met Gemma's aunt, who told me
that she was ill and that she would like to see me. I asked permission of the Superior and then I went to see
her on Thursday and Sunday during the walk hour. We made triduums and novenas together, but she used
to say to me that it didn't matter whether she got better or not, provided Jesus was pleased. It was at this
time that I gave her a little blessed Crucifix, and she afterwards told me that she had received signal graces
through it. The last novena we made was to the Sacred Heart and to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque.'
The name of St. Margaret Mary was as new to the servant of God as that of St. Gabriel. Her confessor,
Monsignor Volpi, who was at this time spiritual director to the Visitation Nuns at Lucca, had spoken about
her, and so had Don Andrew Bartoloni, the parish priest of St. Frediano's, who came frequently to visit her
and to bring her Holy Communion. The latter deposed:
‘Every Saturday I brought her Holy Communion. She used to go to confession to Monsignor Volpi, who is my
cousin. She was attacked by a disease which some said was spinal; others said it was paralysis, others
Pott's disease. I could not say exactly. It was for the fifteen Saturdays called the Saturdays of Pompeii that I
brought her Holy Communion. I brought her Holy Communion on a few other occasions, for she was ill for
many months. On one occasion when I visited her I had just returned from France, where I had said Mass at
Paray-le-Monial. She seemed very interested in the Sanctuary there and asked me about the devotion to
Blessed Margaret Mary which was practiced there.'
And while Don Andrew Bartoloni was answering Gemma's questions, on his side he received, in
compensation, great edification. He tells us this himself:
'Through her illness she was, as it were, rigid. She could raise only her head and shoulders a little. She used
to say to me: " See, I am crucified; I cannot move." But nevertheless she never uttered a word of complaint.
She was always jovial, smiling and peaceful. I t seemed to me that she had a most extraordinary resignation.
She had her Rosary or a holy picture always in her hand or under her pillow. Even the family seemed
peaceful, because Gemma was so calm. Sometimes when I was leaving the house, they said to me: " Isn't
Gemma very resigned? "
REPROOF AND COMFORT FROM ABOVE
Before continuing Gemma's story, it is necessary to go back a little in order to follow the different phases of
her illness. She suffered a great deal not only from the actual pains of her disease, but also from the
straitened circumstances of the family. Sometimes she thought she detected a certain weariness in the
general demeanor of those about her. , Even Aunt Elisa,' she said, ' appears to care for me no longer, but it is
the will of God.' Her Divine Spouse, however, Who desired to make His chosen one a woman truly strong,
reproved her for these outbursts. This is how Gemma referred to it :
'One morning after I had received Holy Communion at home, I was particularly conscious of the presence of
Jesus within me. He reproved me severely, saying that I was a weak soul. "It is your wicked self-love "-He
said -" that is the cause of your being annoyed when you cannot do what others can do, and the cause of
your feeling confused when you have to accept -the help of others. If you were dead to yourself you would
not be so upset." [Autobiographia, pgs 41-42]
From that day Gemma in the midst of her sufferings lived in entire abandonment to the will of God.
26