Mary Magdalen of Pazzi (1566–1607)

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Mary Magdalen of Pazzi (1566–1607)

Saint. Name variations: Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi. Born Catherine in 1566; died in 1607; daughter of Florentine nobles.

When she was 12, Mary Magdalen of Pazzi made a vow to refrain from marriage. At 18, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, changing her name from Catherine to Mary Magdalen and taking as her motto "To suffer or die." She then endured corporal and spiritual sufferings which she had asked of God. She was beatified by Pope Urban VIII in 1626 and canonized by Alexander VIII in 1670. Her feast day is May 29, and a church in Florence bears her name.

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