Home parish: St. Philip the Apostle Parish, Posey County
Education: Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary, Indianapolis; Class of 2032
Saint: Gemma Galgani
Hope in the midst of suffering: Lessons from the life of St. Gemma Galgani
By Brett Wilkey, Special to The Message
Editor’s note: This year, Diocesan seminarians focused their annual seminarian profiles on a saint or someone on the road to sainthood who gives them hope in honor of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
St. Gemma Galgani was born in 1878 and lived in Lucca, Italy. From a young age, she was devoted to the Passion of Christ and the Eucharist. She desired to be a Passionist Nun, but her poor health prevented her from entering the convent. Instead, God gave her a great gift, the stigmata. Every Thursday night during prayer, Jesus would give her his physical wounds. This would last until Friday afternoon. She experienced countless visions of Jesus, Mary and all the saints. She experienced intense temptations from the devil. She was able to combat this through her strong devotion to Jesus and Mary. She died in 1903 at the age of 25.
St. Gemma’s prayer life is truly inspiring for me. Her prayer was extraordinary and full of mystical experiences. She would enter so deeply into prayer that she would literally see Jesus, Mary and her guardian angel when she prayed. This gives me hope and inspires me to strive to pray more often because that is exactly what prayer is: an intimate conversation with Jesus, Mary and all the saints. It might not be as extravagant as St. Gemma’s, but I must have hope that that is what is happening.
St. Gemma faced various illnesses throughout her life. Through all of this, she had hope that this was all part of God’s plan for her. Despite all the suffering she faced, she remained faithful to God throughout. We can apply this to our lives by remembering that no matter what we face, it is all part of God’s plan. St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us.