Belated Saint of the Day- Bl Sibyllina of Pavia- Mar 23

 
                  
Blessed Sibyllina of Pavia, Virgin                  (AD 1367)


         Sibyllina Biscossi was orphaned as a small child, in the town of Pavia, Italy. She was made to earn her keep as a maid-servant by the age of 10.  She could not read or write and at age 12, she became totally blind. When her blindness made it so that she couldn't do any meaningful work, some lay religious took her in, to live with them. Sibyllina was a devout child. She had a great deal of faith. She was convinced, for some time, that if she prayed hard enough to St Dominic, she would obtain the cure of her blindness. The days went by, and still no cure. When all hope of a miracle had practically left her, she had a dream or vision. In it, she felt she was being led by the hand through a long dark tunnel, by St Dominic. All around her she could feel the presence of evil spirits. This might have caused her to faint, from fear, had it not been for the comforting presence of her guide. At the very end of the tunnel, she saw a faint glimmer of light. It became brighter as they came nearer to it. In the end , the arrived in a place of profound peace and light. When she woke up, she had no doubt that God meant for her to remain blind. So, she decided to embrace her blindness, and to second God's Divine purpose for her. Since she was already an exile from the world, she decided to become a recluse, and had herself shut up in a cell, beside the Dominican Church in Pavia. At first, she had a roommate, but she died after 3 years, and no one came to take her place. She lived an austere life as a solitary. She lived to be 80 years old. people from all over, and from all walks of life came to seek her advice, and to talk with her, through the window of her cell. Many miracles were attributed to her intercession. It is said that she was especially devoted to the Holy Spirit, and that she believed Whitsunday to be the most important feast of the year. When she died, she had been a recluse for 65 years. Her body was still incorrupt in 1853. Her feast is Mar 23.