The
Death and Burial |
The reflection on the death of Luisa Piccarreta is by her last spiritual director, Rev. Benedetto Calvi, Pastor of S. M. Greca. |
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"Luisa is no longer with us. She is in Heaven, surrounded by the infinite light of the Divine Will, glorious and triumphant in the glory of the Saints. |
| I assisted her up to her last moment. She expired in my arms, while I was pronouncing my last, unnecessary absolution! She died the way the Saints die, in a final acceptance of the Divine Will! I am still under the spell of that last moment, under the painful but sublime impression that I felt at her last breath, by which I cannot say to anyone who asks me about her, anything more than, "A Saint has died!" We have lost our dear Luisa. We have gained a Patroness in Heaven. |  |
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Her body remained immobile, in a sitting position, on her bed. Her limbs remained completely free of the rigidity that affects corpses, so that you could move them in any direction, right down to the fingers of her hand. Her eyelids were closed, but on lifting them, you could see the vividness of the pupils preserved as when she was alive. All this gave rise to serious doubt about her death. We had to have her visited by several doctors. She remained in this state, without the minimal sign of decomposition, for fully four entire days. |
The whole population of our town and many from out of town as well paid their respect to her remains, kissing her hand which retained the flexibility of a living person. Many even touched religious objects to her to be kept as relics. Her sitting position forced us to build an entirely different casket from those normally used, because we are unable to make her lie down even by applying force. In this sitting position, she seemed to be alive even in her bier, which by permission of the authorities was closed with a glass door, so that she could be seen even from far away. The funeral? A veritable triumph. That day, no one went to work. Everyone was present in church. Several photographers were on hand to take pictures of this unusual spectacle, reason for which so many photographs have been preserved. It was an extraordinary manifestation of bereavement, but at the same time of joy. And she, from her casket, clearly visible to everyone, though with eyes closed, seemed to want to bless the immense multitude that was accompanying her to her last resting place. Truly a rare spectacle, quite unique. Those who had the occasion to take part in it will never be able to express fully the dimensions of this manifestation. |
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I don't find the energy to go on. I will tell you only by way of conclusion that I had our dear Luisa buried in my family chapel-mausoleum, at the distance of hardly a meter from the altar on which I celebrate my Masses. |
| I hope that thus we
are united forever in the Divine Will, united in death in the cemetery, united forever, so
I hope by God's Mercy, in the glory of the Divine Will. Affectionately in the Divine Will, |
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