Bl Maria Candida of the Eucharist – June 14 – Carmelite Saints

Summary:

Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist was born on January 16, 1884, in Catanzano. Her parents, Pietro Barba and Giovanna Florona, returned to Palermo, Sicily, where she received First Holy Communion on April 3, 1894. In 1919, she entered the Discalced Carmelite Monastery, Ragusa, making solemn profession on April 23, 1924. She was Prioress and Mistress of Novices many times, radiating a sense of Carmelite holiness both within and outside of the community, influencing others with her love for the Eucharist, as well as by her numerous writings. She died on June 12, 1949, on the solemnity of the Holy Trinity, and was beatified on March 21, 2004.

History:

Maria Barba was born on January 16, 1884, to Pietro Barba, an appeals court judge, and Giovanna Florena, a noblewoman. She was the tenth of twelve children; unfortunately, only seven survived childhood. The family lived in Palermo, Sicily, but Pietro’s work briefly took them to Catanzaro, Italy, where Maria was born. She was baptized three days later. The devout family returned to Palermo when Maria was 2.

After returning to Palermo, Maria was a lively child who passionately longed to receive Jesus. Her zeal for the Eucharist showed early.

“When I was still a child, and before I was old enough to receive Jesus in Communion, I used to rush to the front door to greet my mother when she returned from Mass. There I stood on tiptoe to reach up to her and cried, “I want God too!” My mother would bend down and softly breathe on my lips; I immediately left her, and placing my hands across my chest, full of joy and faith, jumping for joy, I would keep repeating: “I have received God too! I have received God, too!”

In 1891, Maria started school and achieved outstanding grades. That year, she also began piano lessons, demonstrating remarkable musical talent.

Maria received her First Communion on April 3, 1894, at the age of 10. From then on, her devotion to the Eucharist grew. She longed to receive it often, calling it her “vocation for the Eucharist.” Being deprived was for her “a great and painful cross.”

Alongside her devotion to Christ in the Eucharist, Maria's longing for religious life began at age 15, sparked by a transformative grace. Her desire to love God wholeheartedly and devote herself to Him fully intensified, further strengthened by her cousin's investiture as a nun in 1899.

Despite her growing yearning for religious life, Maria’s family opposed what they saw as her sudden "whim." They dismissed her devotion as fleeting spiritual enthusiasm. During this time, Maria found solace in reading St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s The Story of a Soul, which fueled her Teresian spirituality and strengthened her Carmelite aspirations. Though facing rejection, the book inspired her to persevere. While waiting, Maria suffered inwardly yet showed exceptional strength and fidelity, sustained by a profound Eucharistic devotion she saw as God's sacramental presence and the basis for trust in His promises.

Maria's father died on June 21, 1904. In September 1910, she and her family went on a pilgrimage to Rome and met Pope Pius X. Maria received the sacrament of Confirmation on November 13, 1911. Almost ten years after her father’s death, her mother died on June 5, 1914.

With both parents gone, her brothers assumed responsibility for her. They viewed some of her spiritual devotions as excessive and restricted her participation in religious services by not permitting her to leave the house alone. Maria could not regularly receive the Eucharist, though she complied to avoid offending them.

Despite family misunderstanding, Maria quietly and charitably accepted her circumstances, managing the household for 20 years after her initial calling. Determined, at the age of 35, she entered the impoverished convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Ragusa on September 25, 1919, encouraged by Archbishop Alessandro Lualdi. Her brothers met her departure with silence, refusing to say goodbye or to have any future contact.

Maria began her novitiate as Sr. Maria Candida of the Eucharist on April 16, 1920. None of her siblings attended. She took her first vows a year later and her solemn vows on April 23, 1924.

Her first manuscript, "Ascent: First Steps," began on June 16, 1922, in obedience to Mother Maria Evangelista di San Luca; it recounts her vocation and arrival at Carmel. "The Song on the Mountain" followed, begun on November 5, 1926, at the request of her spiritual director, Fr. Giorgio La Perla.

On November 10, 1924, Sr. Maria was elected Prioress, serving—except for a brief interruption—until 1947, re-elected five times. From 1930-33, she acted as sacristan and mistress of novices. As prioress, she led Carmel’s expansion in Sicily, founding a new convent in Syracuse and securing the male branch’s return to the region.

Mother Candida grieved when Sisters disregarded the Rule. One day, she said, "My daughter, why do you insult the Lord like this? Don't you realize that humanity needs you? Why do you let yourself to go off the path?" She strove to cultivate deep reverence for the Rule of St. Teresa within her community.

Maria left a lasting Eucharistic imprint on the convent. Her spirituality, revealed in rich autobiographical pages, established her as a true "mystic of the Eucharist." She wanted “to keep Jesus company in the Eucharist.” She prolonged adoration, especially on Thursdays, spending from eleven to midnight before the tabernacle. The Eucharist gave her the strength to consecrate herself as a victim to God on November 1, 1927.

During the Holy Year of 1933, on Corpus Christi, Mother Candida began a profound Eucharistic meditation, recording personal experiences and theological reflections. It was published in 1936 under the title Eucharist: True Jewel of Eucharistic Spirituality.

She saw all of Christian life summed up in the Eucharist, including the theological and evangelical virtues. She saw their full expression, asceticism, and conformity to Jesus.

Faith: “O my Beloved Sacrament, I see you, I believe in you!... O Holy Faith. Contemplate with ever greater faith our Dear Lord in the Sacrament: live with Him who comes to us every day”.

Hope: “O My Divine Eucharist, my dear Hope, all our hope is in You.”

Charity: “My Jesus, how I love You! There is within my heart an enormous love for You, O Sacramental Love...How great is the love of God made bread for our souls, who become a prisoner for me!”

Obedience: “Which hymn would we not sing in obedience to this Divine Sacrament? And what is the obedience of Jesus of Nazareth compared with His obedience in this Sacrament for two thousand years?”

Poverty: “After having taught me obedience, how much He talks to me, instructs me in Poverty, O Sacred Host! Who is more naked, poorer than you...You have nothing, you ask for nothing!...O Jesus, let religious souls long for sincere detachment and poverty!”

Chastity: “If You speak to me of obedience and poverty, what a spell of purity You have over me just by Your glance. Lord, if Your home is in pure souls, who is the soul that, relating with You, does not become such? From this came my goal: “I want to be close to You through purity and love.”

She saw that the model of Eucharistic life is the Virgin Mary, who carried the Son of God and continues to give birth to Him in the souls of His disciples. Mother Candida wrote about the Blessed Virgin Mary, model par excellence of Eucharistic living:

"I want to be like Mary, to be Mary for Jesus, to take the place of his Mother. When I receive Jesus in Communion, Mary is always present. I want to receive Jesus from her hands; she must unite me with him. I cannot separate Mary from Jesus. Hail, O Body born of Mary. Hail Mary, dawn of the Eucharist!"

For Maria Candida, the Eucharist truly was the "source and summit" of the Christian life, forming the foundation for her understanding of beauty, truth, and love.

Her final work was "Carmelite Perfection," dedicated to her fellow nuns and begun in 1947, after the end of her term as prioress.

In 1947, Mother Candida was diagnosed with a liver tumor. She endured suffering nobly, resigned to God's will in silent recollection. She became a model of loving sacrifice, offering herself for the Church and troubled souls. She invited the nuns to thank Jesus for her diagnosis, describing it as a "caress of infinite mercy," which she felt unworthy to receive. She declared herself "most blessed, most happy" in her pain.

After months of suffering, Mother Maria Candida died on June 12, 1949, the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Her last words praised the Virgin Mary: "From you I received the Eucharist."

Her adherence to the Teresian Carmelite spirit earned her a reputation for exceptional sanctity, with many graces attributed to her intercession. Her burial on June 14 in the tomb of her spiritual director in Ragusa was attended by many. Her remains were transferred to the Carmelite Church in Ragusa on November 12, 1970.

She was beatified on March 21, 2004, by Pope St. John Paul II. He presented Maria Candida as "an authentic mystic of the Eucharist … unifying center of the whole of life, following the Carmelite tradition… She was so in love with Jesus in the Eucharist that she felt a constant and ardent desire to be a tireless apostle of the Eucharist.”

Another miracle has been considered for her canonization. On January 15, 2007, a priest, accompanied by a group of faithful, celebrated Mass at the Carmelite Monastery in Ragusa, replacing the usual chaplain. The afternoon before, the sacristan nun, together with the mother prioress, checked whether there were enough hosts in the tabernacle. The ciborium contained about twenty, so she placed four more hosts on the celebrant's paten. However, at the beginning of the celebration, the nuns noticed that there were more faithful than usual: they knew of the change of celebrant, but not that he would be accompanied by others.

At that point, the sacristan and the prioress sought Bl. Maria Candida’s intercession asking God to grant that everyone receive Communion. The instituted acolyte did the same as soon as he uncovered the ciborium. The celebrant began distributing the consecrated Hosts, of which there were fewer than thirty. In the end, everyone received a whole Host; in fact, about fifty remained.

This miracle was investigated in the relevant diocesan inquiry, opened on June 29, 2007, and concluded on June 19, 2008. To mark the closing of the diocesan process, the local bishop celebrated a mass at the Carmel, during which the book ‘A journey into the heart' was presented. Two hymns composed by Cristiana of Jesus Crucified, in honor of the Bl. Maria, were also sung for the first time. Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist’s popularity has gone beyond the walls of Carmel to touch the faith of the whole of Sicily.

Prayer:

All powerful and ever-living God,
who, by the breath of the Spirit,
inspired Blessed Maria Candida, virgin,
to contemplate the riches of the Eucharist,
by her intercession, grant we beseech you,
that gratefully offering the sacrifice
of the Body and Blood of Christ,
in union with the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may always glorify You in this Sacrament,

Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.