Joan of Orvieto, Bl.

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JOAN OF ORVIETO, BL.

Dominican tertiary and mystic; also known as Giovanna or Vanna; b. Carnaiola, near Orvieto, Italy, 1264; d. Orvieto, July 23, 1306. Having refused a proposed marriage, she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic; Bl. james of bevagna was her spiritual director. She received the stigmata and frequently entered into ecstasy. Her special devotions were to the holy angels and the Passion of Christ. Distinguished for her care of the poor, she was venerated by the townspeople, who, despite all her efforts to the contrary, honored her as a saint. Reportedly, the best way to be assured of her prayers was to do her an injury. benedict xiv approved her cult in 1754.

Feast: July 23.

Bibliography: m. c. de ganay, Les Bienheureuses dominicaines (2d ed. Paris 1924) 109120. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints (New York 1956) 3:171172. g. gieraths, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 195765) 5:984.

[m. j. finnegan]

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