Magdalena de Pazzi
Italian Carmelite mystic and saint (1566-1607)
Feast: 25 May (current Roman calendar, optional memorial) · 29 May (1962 Missal, III class)
Who they were
Caterina de' Pazzi was born in 1566 to a noble Florentine family and was drawn to intimate prayer from childhood. At sixteen, in 1582, she entered the Carmelite monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, taking the name Mary Magdalene.
Early in her religious life an illness kept her from lying down, and she made her vows seated on a bed placed before Our Lady's altar. From then on she lived an intense mystical life, which her sisters recorded in several volumes. She embraced 'naked suffering' for love of God, and died on 25 May 1607, aged 41; her body, incorrupt, rests in Careggi in Florence.
The miracles
The miracles examined for her causes are not described in the sources we have used.
Why that counted as sanctity
In Medici Florence she recognised no power but the love of God. She put the Trinity at the centre of the spiritual life and lived her whole brief life as a lover of Love.
Connected on this site
- Mary Magdalene Saint“Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, OCarm (Italian: Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi; born Caterina Lucrezia de' Pazzi; 2 April 1566 – 25 May 1607), was an Italian Carmelite nun and mystic.” — Wikipedia
- Maria degli Angeli Venerable“At sixteen, in 1582, she entered the Carmelite monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, taking the name Mary Magdalene.” — this site's research
- Vatican News - Saint of the day (Italian): Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi
- Wikidata Q242040 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.