Saint Maria De Mattias

Maria Matilda De Mattias (February 4, 1805 – August 20, 1866) was an Italian woman who founded the religious congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ. She is a saint in the Catholic Church, having been canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2003. Maria was born into a period of constant political turmoil. The civil life of Vallecorsa was marred by the feuding of a number of competing factions. The small kingdoms and republics on the Italian peninsula were constantly at war with one another. Commerce was disrupted; in the face of economic uncertainty and lack of steady work, young men who found it easier to live by banditry joined those who were outlaws for political reasons, holed up in mountain enclaves. They lived by raiding and intimidating the peasants and villagers. Gang leaders became popular and romantic figures. De Mattias was born 4 February 1805 in Vallecorsa, in the Province of Frosinone, Italy, to a religious and upper-class family which valued education. She was the second of four children of Giovanni de Mattias and Ottavia de Angelis. Because her family had property and wealth, it was not safe for Maria and her brothers to play outside—the bandits made a practice of kidnapping children for ransom. Although women during her time did not normally receive a formal education, she was able to teach herself how to read and write. In her mid-teens, she was withdrawn and focused more on her looks than religion. She was proud of her long blond hair, and spent hours before her mirror, posing and arranging her clothes. However, at the age of 16 she was inspired by a mystical vision and began to break out from her sheltered upbringing. In 1822 Gaspar del Bufalo, founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, preached a mission in her town. De Mattias decided that she would devote her life to caring for the needy and spreading the word of God.