Today, August 25, is the memorial of Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified.
Carmelite nun.
Mariam Baouardy was born at Abellin in Galilee in 1846 to very poor and devoted Greek-rite Catholic parents. She became an orphan at three years old when both her parents died of natural causes days apart. An uncle adopted Mariam and her brother Paul. She never got to go to school nor was able to read.
When she reached 13, she wanted to dedicate herself to God’s service. Her uncle arranged a marriage for her, but she refused. Mariam worked as a housemaid in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Beirut, and Marseilles.
In 1865, she joined the Sisters of Compassion, but because of her poor health, she had to leave. She also joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, but was judged not suited for the cloistered life.
In 1867, she was received by the Discalced Carmelites in Pau, France and was given the religious name Mary of Jesus Crucified.
Three years later, she left for India to join the first Carmelite Apostolic Sisters to Mangalore, India. One year later, she was recalled to Pau, from where she left as part of a new foundation, the first Carmel in Palestine.
She lived a life so virtuous that she was blessed with many mystical experiences, including heavenly visits from Jesus Himself, the Blessed Virgin Mary & St. Joseph, and the stigmata which appeared on both her hands.
Mariam died in 1878 at Bethlehem from a cancer which she had contracted after a fracture caused by a fall while she was working in the monastery.
She was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1983 and canonized by Pope Francis in 2015.