Novena in preparation for the Beatification
of
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna
The eagerly awaited beatification of Venerable Elisabetta Sanna is
approaching. It will be celebrated on September 17th in the Basilica
of the Most Blessed Trinity of Saccargia. The first beatification of a lay
member of the Union of Catholic Apostolate is a great joy for our entire Pallottine Family. Thanking the Lord for
this grace, we humbly Him that we may be able to open ourselves completely to
the graces which He will give us through this occasion. In order to prepare
ourselves as well as possible for the beatification, we are publishing - for private use - this novena in
preparation for this joyful event.
Biographical information
Elisabetta Sanna was born in Codrongianos (Sassari) on April 23rd,
1788. At the age of three months, she lost the ability to raise her arms. She
married and raised five children. In 1825, she was widowed and made a vow of
chastity; she was spiritual mother to the girls and women of her area. In 1831,
having embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she ended up in Rome, and was
unable return due to grave physical ailments. She dedicated herself totally to
prayer and to service of the poor and sick. She was among the first members of
the Union of Catholic Apostolate of Saint Vincent Pallotti, her spiritual
director. Her dwelling became a shrine of faith and of burning love. She died
in Rome on February 17th, 1857 and was buried in the church of SS.
Salvatore in Onda. Witnesses confirm and shed light on the words of Saint
Vincent Pallotti, reported by Fr. Scapaticci and Fr. Vaccari: “Two people until
now have carried our Institute forward: one is, as you have often understood
from Fr. Vincent, Elisabetta Sanna, a poor woman; the other is Cardinal Lambruschini”.
For this reason the “poor” Servant of God received the privilege of being
buried in the church of SS. Salvatore in Onda, near the tomb of Saint Vincent
Pallotti. When she died, her reputation for holiness was so great that, just
four months after her death, a postulator was named for her cause of
beatification, which however lasted more than one and a half centuries. She was
declared Venerable on January 27th, 2014. The miracle which finally paved
the way for her beatification, approved by Pope Francis on January 22nd,
2016, was the healing of a young Brazilian woman (31 years of age), Suzana
Correia da Conceição, of an atrophy of the muscles of the right forearm and
hand with grave functional impairment on May 18th, 2008 - Trinity
Sunday.
Introductory Prayer:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, I thank you for having enriched our sister Elisabetta Sanna in a
marvellous way with wisdom, counsel and fortitude. Through her merits, I ask
you to grant me the grace which I earnestly desire …………………, if this is in
accordance with your Most Holy Will.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
First day: wife and mother (September 8th)
From when she was a young girl, Elisabetta desired to become a nun.
Having lost the ability to lift her arms, she didn’t think of getting married,
and yet, as a young woman, many young men wanted to marry her. Thus, on
September 13th, 1807, at 19 years of age, she celebrated marriage
with a certain Antonio Maria Porcu, a truly good Christian of modest means.
Antonio was an exemplary husband and father who loved his wife and trusted her
completely. In fact, he said to his friends: “My wife is not like yours, she is
a saint”! Elisabetta would say: “I was not worthy to have such a husband, he
was so good”. Their family was a model for the entire area. In the following
years, seven children were born to them. She spent her days between the house,
the education of her children and the land, where she worked without sparing
herself. And she also found time for long hours of prayer in church. She didn’t
fear criticism for the faith which she so publicly professed and lived: “This
is my style of life - she responded - it hasn’t prevented me from attending to
my duties as the mother of a family”. She herself prepared her children for
Confession and Communion and passed on to them a great love for Jesus, with
much tenderness, without ever being sharp. A true education from the heart
Prayer:
O God, sanctifying Spirit, who love the Church
your Bride, you poured the flame of your love into the heart of Venerable
Elisabetta Sanna and radiated it in her family, the domestic church. I thank
you for this exemplary wife and mother, for her encouraging and simple witness.
Give to every woman - married, mother, single, consecrated - the grace of being
a presence which forms every family, every community, into a cenacle of faith
and love, in generous hard work and sanctifying service.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Second day: widow and bride of Jesus Christ (September 9th)
Of her seven children, two died at a very young age. On January 25th,
1825, her husband Antonio, attended by her, died young. Widowed with five
children, the oldest being seventeen, the youngest just three, she felt
responsible not only for the administration of the house and land, but above
all for their spiritual and temporal education. Maturing in her spiritual path,
Elisabetta made a vow of chastity in 1829, with the permission of the
Franciscan Lenten preacher, Fr. Luigi Paolo da Ploaghe. She asked her confessor
to reminder her often that she was a bride of Jesus Christ.
Prayer:
O Lord, You who consoled Mary after the death
of Joseph and had compassion on the widow of Nain, grant me the strength to
accept my aloneness without losing myself in sadness. As you did for Venerable
Elisabetta Sanna, grant me your peace, your strength and your joy, so that I
may use them to serve You courageously in serving others - above all in my
family, but also with those dear to me who, in your goodness, you place on my
path of life, knowing that every day brings me closer to my ultimate encounter
with you, together with (name of husband/wife, if applicable)
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Third day: pilgrim (September 10th)
In 1829, the young assistant parish priest, Fr. Giuseppe Valle, arrived
in Codrongianos. He became confessor and spiritual director to the Sanna
family, in particular Elisabetta. The Christian life of Elisabetta became even
more fervent. During the aforementioned Lenten exercises of that year, the
preacher Fr. Luigi Paolo spoke with great fruitfulness about the Holy Land.
Together with other women, Elisabetta went to him to know more, and remained so
inspired that a very strong desire was kindled in her to go to Palestine to see
the places where the Son of God was born and was crucified, feeling called to
follow Jesus more closely. Thus, in the first months of 1830, she asked Fr.
Giuseppe Valle’s permission to go there on pilgrimage. Fr. Valle, after various
explanations, said no. Several months passed however, and in July Elisabetta
returned to ask him for the desired permission. After deep reflection and
prayer, he agreed and decided to accompany her. They began to prepare
themselves and their families discretely for the planned journey, hoping that
it would help them to grow spiritually and to better serve others. Elisabetta
was sure that her mother, then already 65, and her priest brother Fr. Luigi,
living in Codrongianos, would be able to take care of her family during the
pilgrimage. At the end of June 1831 she, along with Fr. Valle, embarked for
Genoa. There the boat for Cyprus was awaiting them. At the last moment,
however, Fr. Valle discovered that he lacked the visa for the East. He and
Elisabetta then decided to go to Rome, saying: “There too is also Holy land”. And
so they arrived in Rome on July 23rd, 1831. From the very beginning,
this journey had the character of a pilgrimage.
Prayer:
O God, always going out to encounter each
person, you enkindled in Venerable Elisabetta’s heart the desire to be a
pilgrim. I thank you for her encouraging witness. Give me the strength and
courage to always go forward to encounter you. Becoming your disciple is the
goal of all of my journeying in life. Let me learn to improve, guided by the
word of the Gospel. All that I have known and learned now becomes the legacy of
my existence, so that I may transmit it through the witness of my life.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Fourth day: collaborator of Saint Vincent (September 11th)
In Rome, Elisabetta Sanna lived in a tiny dwelling near the Basilica of
St. Peter’s. In her pilgrimage around the churches of Rome, yearning in prayer,
Elisabetta encountered a holy Roman priest, Fr. Vincent Pallotti, in the church
of Saint Augustine. When in 1832 he decided to accompany her spiritually, Saint
Vincent wrote in her name to her priest brother, explaining to him that his
sister could not leave for Sardinia for health reasons, but that she would do
so once she improved. The Servant of God, while trying to get better,
collaborated with Pallotti through prayer, counsel and help to the most needy.
Unfortunately, her health got worse. Pallotti supported her in her treatment
and in her spiritual growth, and also found her a small job with Archbishop
Giovanni Soglia, the future cardinal, while she awaited some improvement in her
health. When in 1838 doctor Petrilli wrote, “I am of the opinion that
undertaking another journey by boat could lead her to an even worse condition”,
Pallotti said to her: “God wants you in Rome”. And the Servant of God remained
there, until her death in 1857.
Prayer:
O Venerable Elisabetta, help me to be conscious that my happiness is in
doing the will of God. I ask you, Lord, to give me the ability to accept all
things that happen to me and, with Your help, always to do the best I can every
day according to Your will. You can help me - as you did Venerable Elisabetta -
to always listen to You and do Your will. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Fifth
day: woman with a disability who became an apostle
(September 12th)
When Elisabetta was only three months old, a
smallpox epidemic caused the death of many children in Codrongianos, and she
too was infected. She got better, but was left with slightly twisted arms and
somewhat stiff joints. This did not prevent her from growing, learning to bear
her disability as something natural, to attend to most of the housework, and to
always present herself neat and clean. Notwithstanding her physical disability,
she became a collaborator in the Union of Catholic Apostolate, founded by St.
Vincent Pallotti in Rome. Those who drew near to her would say of her: “She saw
God in everything and adored him in everything. The love of God was her life.
Every greater interest disappeared in the face of the interests of God”. In
fact, Elisabetta herself often used to say: “My God, I love you above all
things”.
Prayer:
Venerable Elisabetta who, with great patience and trust in God, bore the
physical pains of illness and the mental anguish of not being able to return to
Sardinia, obtain for me in my life your surrender to suffering and the ability always
to live beneath the gaze of God, in order to become a docile instrument of
Providence for the salvation of others. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Sixth day: faith in everyday life (September 13th)
Elisabetta received a profound Christian education in her family, about
which her brother, Antonio Luigi, clearly spoke. He speaks of prayer together
in family, of praying the Rosary, of participation in church functions and of help
given to the poor. Elisabetta persevered in this attitude to faith and prayer
throughout her life. All of the witnesses said that people only discussed spiritual
things with her. When they went to her room, the conversation alternated
between religious instruction and prayer. In a letter written to Fr. Giuseppe Valle
on May 18th, 1846, Saint Vincent confirmed her spiritual progress
with the following phrase: “She continues in good works and I hope that she
will reach the perfection desired by God, the Father of Mercies”. Every morning
she went to St. Peter’s Basilica. The Basilica was her home. When she died, the
cry echoed out: “The saint of St. Peter’s is dead”.
Prayer:
O Venerable Elisabetta, help me to be faithful to my daily duties: to the
duty of adoration which is the first necessity of my spiritual life; to the
duty which unites me to my neighbour, to the particular duties of my vocation,
to the duty of material and spiritual charity, conscious that dialogue with my
neighbour is above all in the fulfilment of my daily duties with a spirit of
faith and charity. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Seventh day: spiritual mother (September 14th)
Another area of Elisabetta’s living out of her faith and love was that of
spiritual counsel. She had the gift of spiritual discernment and she used it to
help the many people who sought her help. In her poor attic, before the
painting of the Madonna Virgo Potens
(Powerful Virgin), she prayed with her visitors and gave them wise advice. Cardinal
Giovanni Soglia also consulted her in certain matters of conscience. Pallotti
himself consulted her and brought his spiritual children to listen to her. For
this reason, Fr. Rafaele Melia who knew Elisabetta very well, gave her the
title of “most attentive mother” of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, and Fr.
Ignazio Auconi, his successor in the office of General Superior, confirmed that
she had the attentiveness of a mother towards the Work of Pallotti.
Prayer:
O Mary, Powerful Virgin, help our families and communities, above all
those who struggle to live in faithfulness, unity and concord! Help consecrated
people always to be transparent signs of the love of God. Help priests to be
able to communicate the beauty of the mercy of God to all. Help those who
govern to know how to always and only seek the good of people. O Powerful
Virgin, protect life in all of its forms, ages and situations. Support each one
of us so that, through the example of Venerable Elisabetta, we may be able to
discern the ways of God and become enthusiastic and credible apostles of the
Gospel.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Eighth day: a great love for the Eucharist (September 15th)
In Codrongianos, Elisabetta took part in the Mass nearly every day. In
Rome, she was in St. Peter’s Basilica every morning and, if she didn’t have
other commitments, remained there until the last Mass, because she was
convinced that through the Eucharist, we can worthily give to the Lord what we
should, through adoration, praise, thanksgiving and prayer. She also encouraged
others to go to daily Mass. In a particular way, she adored Jesus in the
Eucharist in the churches where the “40 hours of Adoration” were held, and where
she remained for a long time, in profound adoration. Fr. Valle said that she managed
to receive up to seven Eucharistic blessings in one day. Here the words of Fr.
Melia, regarding Elisabetta’s love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the
Eucharist, are proven true: “She was so devoted to and enamoured of it that she
would have consecrated her whole life to continuous adoration”.
Prayer:
(prayer of Saint Vincent Pallotti before the
Blessed Sacrament):
And you, o Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones,
Dominations, Powers, Principalities, Virtues, Archangels and Angels, come to
visit the Sacramental Jesus, and adore him, thank him and love him for me; and
you too, o Holy Patriarchs and Prophets, Apostles and Evangelists, and
Disciples of the Saviour, o Most Holy Innocents, Most Holy Martyrs, Most Holy
Pontiffs, Bishops, Doctors, Most Holy Priests and Levites, Most Holy
Confessors, Virgins and Widows, and all you Saints of Paradise, come all of you
and visit his most divine Son in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and,
all together, now and always let us adore him, thank him, and love him.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
Ninth day: The serene hope (September 16th)
To her profound faith and her burning love for the Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament, Elisabetta added her serene and joyful hope. When a certain
Luigi Schiboni asked her if he would be saved, she replied: “And do you doubt
it? Do you not know that a God died for your soul?” Fr. Filippo Tancioni,
secretary to Cardinal Soglia who esteemed Elisabetta as a saint, said that she
“had total confidence in being saved by the merits of Jesus Christ … and sought
to inspire the same trust in everyone”. She often repeated: “I trust in the God
of Mercy”. In moments of nostalgia for her family in Sardinia she exclaimed,
“mercy, mercy”. These and similar exclamations, rooted in her very lively faith
and great love for God, developed in her the serene hope to reach Paradise. Thus, even while still in
Sardinia, she composed a kind of poetry (Lauda): “I am completely of God, I am completely of Jesus. I can no longer live
far from God. Jesus is my heart, and I am of Jesus!” She expressed her
desire in this serene manner: “I would like
Heaven full, Purgatory emptied, Hell closed”.
Prayer:
O Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, I admire your courage and constancy in
imitating Jesus with faith and serene hope even in the most difficult
situations. I am ashamed of my frequent lack of certainty, of my laziness and
my lack of coherence: help me to become fully responsible for the gift of faith
and thus to always do good with a Christian spirit, so that my neighbour may
more easily join with me in praising the Most Blessed Trinity. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!
Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!
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