Mariam Baouardy
Melkite Carmelite nun and saint (1846-1878)
Feast: 26 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 6 December 2014 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2014)
Who they were
Mariam Baouardy was born on 5 January 1846 in the Galilean village of Hurfeish, into a Melkite Greek Catholic family, and later moved to I'billin. She became a Discalced Carmelite in France, taking the name Mary of Jesus Crucified, and was known as 'the little Arab'.
She helped found Carmels at Mangalore in India and at Bethlehem, where she died on 26 August 1878, aged 32.
The miracles
Emanuele Lo Zito, a newborn boy — Augusta and Catania, Sicily — April 2009
A baby was born by Caesarean section on 17 April 2009 with the umbilical cord around his neck. Rushed to hospital in Catania, he was found to have pulmonary hypertension and a heart defect, and his condition was critical. His mother placed a relic of Blessed Mariam on him and began a chain of prayer, and he recovered completely.
Why that counted as sanctity
Beatification followed on 13 November 1983 by John Paul II. The case of Emanuele Lo Zito, a newborn boy was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 6 December 2014, opening the way to canonisation. Canonisation followed on 17 May 2015 by Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - decree of 6 Dec 2014
- Chrétiens d'Orient - the miracle that opened the way to canonisation
- Wikipedia - Mariam Baouardy
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q451590 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Mariam Baouardy (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.