Saint Juliana Falconieri

Virgin, Foundress of the Mantellate
(1270–1341)

Saint Juliana Falconieri was born at Florence in 1270 of one of the most noble and wealthy families of that great city. Her uncle was Alexis Falconieri, one of the seven founders of the Order of Servites, and the spirit of piety that animated those holy men breathed also in the household where Juliana grew up. From her earliest childhood she showed an extraordinary gravity and seriousness of soul, avoiding all childish vanities and spending long hours in prayer before the image of the Mother of Sorrows.

At the age of fourteen she received the habit of the Third Order of Servites from the hands of Saint Philip Benizi, the great superior general of that order, and she made a private vow of virginity. Her father had intended her for a brilliant marriage, and her beauty and position made such a match easily attainable, but Juliana had given her heart entirely to God and could not be persuaded by any human argument to change her resolution. Her father died of sorrow, it is said, though whether this was sorrow at her choice or sorrow at his own sins is disputed by her biographers.

After her father's death, Juliana gathered around her a group of women who wished to live under a rule of life in the spirit of the Servite charism. They lived in community, devoted to prayer, penance, the service of the sick and poor, and the contemplation of the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This group became the foundation of the Mantellate, the female branch of the Servite Order, which Juliana organised and for which she drew up a rule confirmed by the Holy See.

As foundress and superior of this community, Juliana showed great wisdom, humility, and charity. She was severe with herself but gentle with her sisters, understanding human weakness and guiding each soul according to its particular needs. She was granted extraordinary mystical gifts, including visions of Our Lord and Our Lady, but she spoke of these things with the greatest reluctance and always attributed whatever good she did entirely to divine grace.

In her last years she suffered a severe illness which made it impossible for her to receive Holy Communion. As she lay dying, she begged to be allowed at least to have a consecrated host placed near her, which her confessor permitted out of compassion. At the moment the host touched her breast she died, and it is said that the image of the host was found imprinted upon her heart. She was canonised by Pope Clement XII in 1737. Her feast is kept on June 19th.