Blessed Anna Maria Taigi

Anna Maria Taigi (née Giannetti; 29 May 1769 – 9 June 1837) was an Italian Catholic professed member from the Secular Trinitarians. Taigi reportedly experienced a series of ecstasies during her life and heard the voices of God and Jesus Christ on several occasions. She became a Secular Trinitarian after experiencing a sudden religious conversion in the winter of 1790 at Saint Peter's Basilica, when Taigi came into contact with a range of cardinals and luminaries, including Vincent Strambi and Benedict Joseph Flaget. Her beatification process was opened in 1863 under Pope Pius IX, granting her the title Servant of God, and Pope Benedict XV beatified her in 1920. Anna Maria Giannetti was born in Siena, Italy on May 29, 1769, as an only child to Luigi Giannetti and Maria Masi. On May 30, 1769, she was baptized in her local parish church as "Anna Maria Gesualda Antonia Giannetti". Her father served as a pharmacist in a small store in Siena. However, he lost his fortune. In 1774, the family moved to Rome where Luigi found work as a household servant. From 1774 to 1776, Anna Maria attended a school, managed by the Filippini Sisters. After graduation, she worked as a domestic servant to help provide for her family. While living in Rome, she was nicknamed "Annette". In 1780, she received her Confirmation in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran and, in 1782, received her First Holy Communion in her parish church of San Francesco di Paola. On January 7, 1789, Anna Maria married the Milanese Domenico Taigi (1761–1850s). Domenico served as a butler for the noble House of Chigi in the church of San Marcello al Corso. The couple had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. When Sofia was about to be married, her fiancée, Micali, was allowed to frequent the house. For two months prior to the marriage the couple could meet, but only in the presence of her parents. Sofia's son, Camillo, was conscripted into the armed service.