Saint Teresa Margaret Redi

Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, OCD (15 July 1747 – 7 March 1770) was an Italian Discalced Carmelite nun. During her brief life of quiet service in the monastery, she came to be revered for her mystical gifts. She has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. She was born Anna Maria Redi to a large noble family in Arezzo, the second child of Count Ignazio Maria Redi and Camilla Billeti. At the age of 9, she was enrolled in the boarding school of the Benedictine monks of the Monastery of St. Apollonia in Florence. When she was older, Redi began to ponder her future. A chance happening set her on the course of her life. An alumna of the monastery school had returned to bid farewell to her former teachers, as she was entering the community of Discalced Carmelite nuns in the city. Redi was deeply moved by the enthusiasm and joy she saw in the older girl's face. As she reflected on this, she felt that she suddenly received an unspoken message from the foundress of the Order, the noted Carmelite mystic and foundress, Teresa of Avila. By April 1764, Redi had completed her studies and her father brought her home. Once there she decided to test herself to see if she could in fact handle the rigors of the life of that Order. Eventually following that call, on 1 September 1764, she formally submitted her request for admission to the assembled Discalced Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of St. Teresa in Florence. In keeping with the custom of the time, she then left the monastery for two months and stayed with a friend of the family in the city, while awaiting a formal reply to her petition. Redi was admitted to the monastery in November 1764. On 11 March of the following year, she was given the religious habit of the Order and the religious name of Teresa Margaret Marianne of the Sacred Heart. She professed her religious vows as a member of the Order on 12 March 1766. Teresa Margaret was a very private and spiritual person.