A Saint for Those with Cancer
Column by Joe Pisani
Over the years, I’ve had devotions to saints with special meaning to me, such as St. Joseph Barsabbas, one of the first disciples who was in the running to fill the opening left by Judas, but didn’t get the job. Instead, it went to Matthias.
If you ever wanted a promotion and someone else got it, he’s a great saint to prayer to. Or if you’ve ever been disappointed and needed a saint who trusted in the will of God even when it hurt, ask for his help.
I’ve always had a devotion to the virgin martyrs, including St. Philomena, St. Agnes, St. Agatha, St. Lucy and St. Cecilia because they stood for Christ against the terrifying power of tyrants. We all should have the same courage when we spread the Gospel message.
One of my all-time favorite saints is St. Martha. I’ve lived with a lot of Marthas, and it hasn’t been easy — although the house was always immaculate. Martha was a saint known for a good meal, not to mention a good miracle.
Others I regularly pray to include St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Ann (and Joachim), St. Mother Teresa and Our Lady of Guadalupe. And let me not forget my namesake, my mother’s namesake and my father’s namesake … the towering yet humble St. Joseph.
Being Italian, I have a fondness for St. Anthony of Padua, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Padre Pio, and St. Margaret of Castello, patron saint of the unwanted, whose parents abandoned her as a child because of her physical deformities. (I was born on her feast day.)
I recently added another Italian saint to my pantheon of favorites — Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani. No relation, as far as I know.
Blessed Pisani, a Benedictine nun born on Dec. 29, 1806, is the patron saint for protection against cancer. The miracle that led to her beatification involved the healing of a Benedictine abbess in 1897, who was dying from stomach cancer.
After a friend informed me of her feast day on Feb. 25, I started doing research. In 2001, she was declared blessed by St. John Paul II. At her beatification Mass, he spoke of her silent, holy life and compared her to Mary of Bethany, “who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.”
Born in Naples, Blessed Pisani was raised in a privileged family. Her father was a powerful baron from Malta, and her mother was from Naples. Sadly, her parents’ marriage fell apart because of her father’s drinking, so she went to live with her paternal grandmother after her mother left.
When her grandmother died, Blessed Pisani went to boarding school and at 19, she moved to Malta with her mother. Three years later, she entered the Monastery of Saint Peter of the Benedictine Sisters in Mdina, despite her family’s insistence that she marry someone with money. However, she gave away her inheritance and took the name of Maria Adeodata (given to God).
During her 25 years in the monastery, she had many jobs, including nurse, mistress of the novices, abbess, and porter, which was her favorite because she loved helping the poor who came for food.
Blessed Pisani wrote several spiritual books, including The Mystical Garden of the Soul That Loves Jesus and Mary and was even said to levitate. She was abbess for two years but gave up the job because of chronic heart problems. She died at 48 on Feb. 25, 1855.
Following her death, many claimed to have received healings and graces through her intercession.
I had prayer cards made in her honor, which I gave to my friends and family. It contains the prayer: “Lord God, you kept Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani faithful to Christ’s example of poverty and humility. May her prayers help us to live in fidelity to our calling and bring us to the perfection you have shown us in your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.”
I was pleased that many of them began praying to her, especially those who were ill, and that I was able to spread devotion to this humble nun.
One woman, whose sister-in-law had cancer, went to her home after she died and found the prayer card taped to the refrigerator door.
“I know that it meant a lot to her,” she told me. “And she often prayed to her.”
Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani, pray for us all.