Carolina Santocanale
Italian nun, foundress, saint (1852–1923)
Feast: 27 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 14 December 2015 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2015)
- 25 November 2021 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2021)
Who they were
Carolina Santocanale was born in Palermo on 2 October 1852 to a noble family. Taking the name Maria of Jesus, she founded the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculate of Lourdes at Cinisi, near Palermo, to care for the poor, the sick and children.
She died at Cinisi on 27 January 1923.
The miracles
a young workman
A young worker fell more than nine metres through a skylight he was working on, yet the only bone he broke was in his wrist.
a mother of two
A woman with myasthenia gravis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and an autoimmune condition, who had been diagnosed as infertile, carried two pregnancies to term without any complication.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of a young workman was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 14 December 2015, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 12 June 2016 by Cardinal Angelo Amato, for Pope Francis. The case of a mother of two was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 25 November 2021, opening the way to canonisation. Canonisation followed on 15 May 2022 by Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - decrees of 14 Dec 2015 and 25 Nov 2021
- Aleteia, Apr 2022 - Sister Mary of Jesus to be canonised, thanks to this amazing miracle
- Wikipedia - Carolina Santocanale
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q22019346 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Carolina Santocanale (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.