Santa Mariam Baouardy: la piccola araba che parlava con Dio — Santi e Beati
Saint Mariam Baouardy, the Little Arab who spoke with God
Editrice Shalom
Tempo di lettura: 2 min
Autore: Editrice Shalom
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At just three years old, Mariam lost both parents and was entrusted to an uncle. From childhood, she showed a deep spiritual sensitivity: she loved nature, fasted on Saturdays in honor of Our Lady, and lived her faith intensely. A decisive episode was the death of two little birds she was trying to wash: inwardly, she heard God’s voice telling her: «See? Everything passes. But if you give me your heart, I will always remain with you».
Martyrdom and miraculous healing
At 13, her guardian tried to arrange a marriage for her, but Mariam refused, feeling called to consecrate herself to God. This refusal cost her dearly: she was attacked by a Muslim servant who slit her throat because she refused to convert to Islam. She miraculously survived, cared for by a mysterious woman dressed in blue, whom Mariam later recognized as the Virgin Mary.
A mystical and missionary life
After years of working as a domestic servant in various cities, she entered the Carmelite monastery in Pau, France, where she took the name Mary of Jesus Crucified. There she experienced extraordinary mystical phenomena: ecstasies, visions, stigmata, levitations, bilocations, and prophecies. She called herself “the little nothing,” an expression of her profound humility.
In 1870, she left for India, where she helped found the Carmelite monastery in Mangalore. Returning to France, in 1875 she was sent to the Holy Land to found the Carmelite monastery in Bethlehem, where she lived until her death in 1878, at just 32 years of age, from gangrene caused by a fall.
Visions of the afterlife
During an ecstasy lasting four days, Mariam recounted seeing Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell. She saw Jesus burning with love, the martyrs, holy priests, the souls in Purgatory, and the damned. She was shown the redemptive value of suffering and the role of the Virgin Mary in freeing the souls in Purgatory.
These visions, recounted in obedience to her confessor, Father Pierre Estrate, are collected in the book The Little Nothing, which offers a profound look at her spirituality and her mission of intercession for souls.
Canonization and miracles
She was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1983 and canonized by Pope Francis on May 17, 2015. The miracle that made her canonization possible was the inexplicable healing of a Sicilian newborn, Emanuele Lo Zito, who suffered from severe congenital heart disease. His mother placed a relic of the blessed woman on the child and began a chain of prayers: the little boy recovered completely.
A saint for today
Saint Mariam Baouardy is a bridge between East and West, between contemplation and action, between suffering and hope. Her life teaches us that holiness is possible even in fragility, that God speaks in silence, and that love can transform every wound into grace.
