Table of contents:
- 1. … kept her rotting flesh in a vase
- 2. … ate scabs
- 3. … drank pus
- 4.… licked ulcers
- 5. … ate lice
- 6.… burned her genitals with fat
- 7. … stuffed worms in my leg
- 8. … tortured herself with a stag beetle
- 9. … feeding myself to mosquitoes
- 10. … ate spiders
Video: 10 weird stories about famous Catholic saints
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
A special place in the Catholic Church is occupied by the veneration of saints - persons who, as Christians believe, are endowed by God for their faith with the ability to act as helpers and perform miracles. There is an opinion that a life full of self-denial is equal to martyrdom in holiness. True, today the actions and behavior of some canonized people would be considered, to put it mildly, shocking. …
1. … kept her rotting flesh in a vase
Saint Lidwina was born in about 1380 in the Dutch Schidam. When she was 16, Lidwina fell while ice skating, after which she eventually developed a mysterious condition that resulted in the girl experiencing chronic pain, hypersensitivity to light, and was partially paralyzed. She spent most of her life in bed, being able only to move her left hand. According to a document written by the city elders of Schiedam, Lidwina also had sores all over her body. Eventually, her flesh began to rot and fall off in chunks.
But, surprisingly, these pieces of flesh exuded a wonderful sweet smell, and her parents kept them in a vase at home. Lidwina considered her suffering as a gift from God and eventually began to heal the suffering. Some historians suspect that Lidwina suffered from multiple sclerosis and severe pressure sores that developed as she was unable to move due to paralysis.
2. … ate scabs
Saint Angela of Foligno lived in Italy in the 13th century and became well known for her mercy and piety. Before she died, Angela dictated her memoir, in which she described how she once washed the feet of a leper, and then drank this dirty water: “We drank the water that we used to wash. The sweetness that we felt was so great that it was felt all the way home … and when the scab from the leper's wound got stuck in my throat, I tried to swallow it. My conscience would not let me spit it out, just as if I had received Holy Communion."
3. … drank pus
Catherine of Siena is one of the most famous medieval saints, famous for her charity and wisdom. She was also known for fasting from a very young age. By the time she was 25, she could no longer tolerate food. Her confessor Raymond Kapuansky literally ordered her to eat, but Catherine insisted that even the slightest bit hurt her.
They wrote about her that if she ate a piece of cheese or salad, washed it down with large sips of water, then she began to feel terrible pain and rushed around the room, trying to induce vomiting in herself (while she sometimes vomited blood). However, there have been exceptions to food intolerances. Catherine told Raymond Kapuansky that she ate the pus that oozed from the body of the dying woman she was feeding. At the same time, she stated that “never in my life have I tasted food and drink sweeter or more exquisite”.
4.… licked ulcers
Saint Mary Magdalene De'Pazzi was born in Florence around 1566 and went to a Carmelite monastery as a teenager. She soon became famous for killing her flesh with whips, dripping hot wax onto her body, and jumping naked into the thorns.
De`Pazzi was also known as a wonderful healer. She licked open wounds of patients with leprosy and skin diseases. In another case, she sucked larvae from infected wounds with her mouth. As a result, she developed a gum infection and all her teeth fell out. The saint died at the age of 37.
5. … ate lice
15th century Italian noblewoman Catherine of Genoa decided to devote herself to good deeds after seeing the bloodied crucifixion of Christ. Soon all the sick and the disadvantaged fell in love with her. Nevertheless, it seems that Catherine could hardly bear the sight of the victims of the plague. To strengthen herself spiritually, she began to drink pus from their wounds, and also eat the lice that her patients were infected with. Thanks to such fearless actions, in 1737 she was recognized as a saint.
6.… burned her genitals with fat
From an early age, Francesca Romana longed to become a nun, but her father forced her to marry a wealthy man at the age of 13. This caused a terrible depression in the woman, but her mental health was restored after she saw Saint Alexis. She even became an obedient wife, until her husband was stabbed to death by the Neapolitans.
Francesca was determined to remain spiritually chaste. Before having sex with her husband, she heated the pork fat and burned her genitals in order to provide herself with severe pain throughout the sexual intercourse. She was also known for beating herself until she bled. In 1608 the church canonized Francesca.
7. … stuffed worms in my leg
Simeon the Stylite was a 6th century Syrian saint who became famous for his ascetic lifestyle. His most famous act was that Simeon lived on top of the pillar for 30 years. The rope that he tied around his leg so as not to fall, over time, cut deeply into the flesh.
The wound smelled and was oozing pus, and worms were swarming in it, but Simeon refused to remove the rope. Instead, he collected the maggots that fell from the wound and pushed them back into the wound, saying, "Eat what God has sent you."
8. … tortured herself with a stag beetle
Ite (or Ita) was the abbess of Killidy in Ireland during the fifth century. She became known for her long fasts and ascetic lifestyle. It was also claimed that she held a large stag beetle, which she applied to her body, so that he would torture her with its huge jaws. Like many early saints, Ite was unofficially canonized by a local bishop.
9. … feeding myself to mosquitoes
Self-sacrifice was clearly in trend. The most famous act of Saint Macarius is considered to be the case that occurred after he instinctively killed a mosquito that bit him. He was so full of regret for killing a living creature that he decided to atone for his guilt and went to the swamp, which was infested with flies and mosquitoes.
He lived there naked for six months, allowing insects to constantly bite him. By the time he returned, his entire body was covered with a mass of bites and sores, and Makarii was recognized only by his voice.
10. … ate spiders
In the 17th century, Saint Veronica Giuliani was known for her acts of humility. For example, she kept rotting fish in her cell and often smelled and tasted it. As a result, she allegedly began to appreciate the taste of fresh fish even more after that. When Veronica got stigmata, the church became interested in her. A Jesuit named Father Crivelli was sent to test her humility.
Crivelli ordered Veronica to leave her cell and live in an abandoned toilet full of spiders and insects. At the same time, she had to clean the toilet floor with her tongue. To his surprise, Veronica licked clean not only the floor, but also the walls, and also "swallowed all the spiders and cobwebs." The Jesuit was convinced, and Veronica was canonized in 1839.
Continuing the theme, the story of 5 Russian priests of the XX century, canonized after death.
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