Sibyllina Biscossi, Bl.
SIBYLLINA BISCOSSI, BL.
Dominican tertiary; b. Pavia, 1287; d. Pavia, March 19, 1367. While still a child, she worked as a servant. At 12, having become blind, she was received into a house of Dominican tertiaries. Three years later she began to live as a recluse in a cell next to the Dominican church. A companion died after three years, and Sibyllina lived alone for the remaining 67 years of her life, practicing severe penances. Many persons consulted her and asked for her prayers; she is said to have had the gifts of prophecy and clairvoyance. Sibyllina's special devotions were to the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit; she regarded Pentecost as the greatest feast. She died in 1367. When her cult was confirmed in 1853, her body was found incorrupt. Plus IX beatified Sibyllina, who is the patron of servant girls in Italy.
Feast: March 23.
Bibliography: Année Dominicaine, 23 v. March 2:475–485. m. c. de ganay, Les Bienheureuses dominicaines (4th ed. Paris 1924) 177–191. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, rev. ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York, 1956) 1:665–666. Acta Sanctorum March 3:67–71. i. taurisano, Hierarchia Ordinis Praedicatorum (Rome 1916) 31. g. gieraths, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 9:725.
[m. j. finnegan]