Vincenza Maria Poloni
Roman Catholic Sister
Feast: 11 November (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 27 January 2025 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2025)
Who they were
Luigia Poloni was born in Verona on 26 January 1802, the last of twelve children of a pharmacist. She founded the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, taking the name Vincenza Maria, and gave herself constantly to the sick, the old and the poor. She died on 11 November 1855.
The miracles
A Sister of Mercy — Verona, Italy — about 1939
A sister of her own congregation suffered from a uterine fibroid, ovarian cysts and advanced breast cancer, which returned and spread two months after a radical mastectomy; several operations between 1937 and 1939 only saw her worsen. She and her sisters prayed earnestly to their foundress, and after a quiet night she woke up healed.
A Chilean woman — Chile — January 2014
A woman admitted on 15 December 2013 for keyhole gallbladder surgery suffered a severe haemorrhage when her aorta was torn, needing emergency open surgery and a graft. She then developed kidney failure, peritonitis and pneumonia, and her outlook was extremely grave, but she recovered. The Vatican's first medical board could not agree; after new evidence, a second board on 25 March 2024 found the healing rapid, complete, lasting and inexplicable.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of a Sister of Mercy was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 17 December 2007, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 21 September 2008 by Archbishop Angelo Amato, for Benedict XVI. The case of a Chilean woman was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 27 January 2025, opening the way to canonisation.
Connected on this site
- Charles Steeb Blessed“Vincenza Maria Poloni, ISM, born as Luigia Poloni, (26 January 1802 – 11 November 1855), was an Italian Catholic religious sister who cofounded the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, which she established with Charles Steeb.” — Wikipedia
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography of Blessed Vincenza Maria Poloni, with both miracles
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q245767 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Vincenza Maria Poloni (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.