Maria Katharina Kasper
| Blessed Maria Katharina Kasper | |
|---|---|
| Nun | |
| Born |
26 May 1820 Dernbach, Westerwaldkreis, Germany |
| Died |
2 February 1898 (aged 77) Dernbach, Westerwaldkreis, Germany |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 19 April 1978, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Paul VI |
| Feast | 2 February |
| Attributes |
|
| Patronage | Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ |
Blessed Maria Katharina Kasper (in English also known as Catherine Kasper) (26 May 1820 – 2 February 1898) was a German Roman Catholic nun who established the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ; its main function to serve the poor and the ill.
Pope Paul VI beatified her on 19 April 1978 at the Vatican following the recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession. Another is now under investigation and is required for her canonization. [1]
Life
Maria Katharina Kasper was born in 1820 in a German village to peasant parents. She had eight brothers and sisters. She loved to read as a child and placed a particular emphasis on the Bible and the book the Imitation of Christ.
Her religious vocation manifested as a child and wrote: "I was just a little girl when, without even understanding the meaning, I felt that the Lord had kindled in my heart a great desire of religious vows so that, when I heard about convents or votes, I took an inexplicable emotion and how a desire to learn more about this way of life".
She worked in the fields as an adolescent to support her parents. She had a clear vision of her vocation which continued to grow. She wrote: "When I went to work one felt the presence of God in me. I could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to me, and I felt the presence of my guardian angel. All this made me happy and sing for joy, I worked with more vigor and I did two".
One of her brothers died in 1842 and the household fell apart with his death. She and her mother rented a home and weaved as a job. Her mother die d sometime after this.
Kasper established the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ on 15 August 1851 and was professed as a nun. The congregation spread at a rapid pace. She visited the various homes that spread to see how each functioned and how each was performing its mission. The congregation soon crossed to the Netherlands in 1859. Pope Pius IX recognized the order as a legitimate one on 9 March 1860 in a papal decree but the order did not receive formal papal approval until Pope Leo XIII did so in 1890. In 1868 the order spread to the United States of America in cities such as Chicago.
Kasper suffered a heart attack in 1898 and died in the dawn of the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Her remains were transferred in 1950.[2]
Beatification
The beatification process commenced in Limburg on 3 February 1946 despite the fact that the cause commenced on a local level from 1928 to 1935. Another process opened and closed in 1951 and both processes were ratified on 18 April 1953. Pope Paul VI approved her life of heroic virtue on 4 April 1974 and conferred upon her the title of Venerable.
The process for a miracle attributed to her spanned from 1968 to 1970 and was ratified on 24 October 1974. The miracle was approved in 1977 and Paul VI beatified her on 16 April 1978. He praised her as a woman of "full faith and fortitude".[3]
The miracle needed for her canonization was investigated on another process and was ratified in 1989.
References
- ↑ "Blessed Maria Caterina Kasper (in Italian)". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ↑ "Blessed Maria Caterina Kasper (in Italian)". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ↑ "Blessed Maria Caterina Kasper (in Italian)". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 20 May 2015.