Saint Mariam Baouardy

Mariam Baouardy, OCD (Arabic: مريم بواردي, or Mary of Jesus Crucified, 5 January 1846 – 26 August 1878), was a Palestinian Discalced Carmelite nun of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Born to parents from the town of Hurfiesh in the upper Galilee, later moved to I’billin, she was known for her service to the poor. In addition, she became a Christian mystic who suffered the stigmata. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 13 November 1983 and canonized on 17 May 2015 by Pope Francis. Baouardy was born on 5 January 1846 (the eve of Epiphany) in the Galilean village of Hurfeish, later moved to I'billin, in the Ottoman Empire, to a family that originated in Damascus. Her father was Giries (George) Baouardy and her mother was Mariam Chahine. Mariam was their 13th child and first daughter, and none of her preceding brothers had survived infancy. She was born after the couple made a pilgrimage on foot to Bethlehem, some 70 miles away, out of desperation after the loss of their children. When they were later blessed with the birth of a daughter, they named her after the Virgin Mary, out of gratitude. She was joined by a new brother, Boulos, two years later. Baouardy was not yet three years old when her parents died from an illness in 1848, only a few days apart. The siblings were each taken in by relatives on different sides of her family living in other villages. She was taken by a paternal uncle who lived in the same village, and her brother went to live with a maternal aunt. The brother and sister would never see one another again. She was raised in a loving home in comfortable circumstances. As a child, she had a marked spirit of religious fervor, and at the age of five began to fast on Saturdays in honor of the Blessed Virgin. When Baouardy was eight, her uncle and his wife moved to Alexandria, Egypt to improve their situation.