Birthplace of the Sister Vincenza Maria Amorelli LIM
The noble origins of the Nun of Miracles
Sister Vincenza Maria Amorelli was an extraordinary figure, renowned for her sanctity, who spent over 65 years of her life bedridden due to illness, offering her suffering to God. She was one of the 12 children of the Sambuca branch of the Amorelli family, a historic Sicilian family from Sambuca di Sicilia of high social standing, owning palaces, oratories, private tombs, and extensive properties. Her family, loyal to the Holy See and the Bourbons, made significant contributions to the Church, politics, spirituality, faith, as well as to art and culture, leaving an indelible mark on the history of Sicily. Already in the second half of the 1700s, they were recognized with the titles of Don and Magnifici, and in 1832, they were granted the hereditary noble title of Counts of the Lateran Palace and the Apostolic Palace by Pope Gregory XVI. In the 1800s, the family split into two branches: the first, represented by the Magnificent Don Epifanio Amorelli, Vincenza's father, remained in Sambuca; the second, represented by Count Audenzio Amorelli, settled in Syracuse.
The Birthplace of Sister Vincenza Maria Amorelli
The place where we stand is one of the Sites of Identity and Memory in Sambuca di Sicilia, connected to a historical figure of the village who lived between 1737 and 1824, and was born right here in this house: we are talking about Sister Vincenza Maria Amorelli, “the nun of miracles.” Also known as “the Colleague of Mary” or “the Servant of God from Sambuca,” she left an indelible mark on the history of the Sambucan community through her exceptional gifts and dedication.
In the Church of San Giuseppe, a tribute to the "sister of miracles"
In 2014, a generous resident of Sambuca commissioned artist Francesco Bondì to create a painting dedicated to the local nun, which is now housed in the Church of San Giuseppe. In the iconographic design of the monument to the nun, the artist highlighted the vision that Sister Vincenza had at the moment of her death: three stars on her pillow, representing the three theological virtues. The architectural composition of the trompe-l'œil painting echoes the architectural style of the Fercolo of Maria SS. dell'Udienza, to which Sister Vincenza was devoted. The analogy between the two architectures emphasizes the dynamism of the "Church in mission" invoked by Pope Francis: the Church that reaches out to its people, as seen in the Fercolo of the Madonna dell'Udienza, and the Church that progresses through the centuries, represented by the monument to Sister Vincenza.
A life devoted to sanctity
Already at eight years old, Vincenza would give up her daily meal to feed the poor; at ten, she regularly received the sacrament of the Eucharist; at fourteen — in 1751 — she decided to join the Collegio sambucese di Maria, founded ten years earlier by Marquis Pietro Beccadelli. Here, Vincenza would become a novice, then a professed sister, nurse, and teacher at the Collegio, but after only two years, at the age of seventeen, she returned to her parental home due to her frail health and constant demonic vexations. Bitter, humiliated, disappointed, confused, and heartbroken, Sister Vincenza Maria made her home her "hermitage," dividing her time between prayer and the arduous work at the loom (the sisters were true masters of sewing). It is said that the devil often tormented her at night. Devoted to the Infant Jesus, whose small statue she kept on an altar opposite her bed, she received the grace of spiritual childhood: an attitude of humility, trust, and abandonment to God, imitating children who trust their parents. At twenty-two, a severe illness confined her to bed for about 65 years until her death, a condition she offered “for the sanctification of the Church, peace in the world, and the salvation of souls.” Despite suffering from severe pains and burning fevers, never diagnosed by any doctor, she never lost interest in the people who often gathered around her bed: she gave everyone advice, kind words, demonstrating charity towards others, and contemplating the Passion of Christ and the Sacrament of the Eucharist, often being taken into ecstasy. Direct witnesses reported her various charisms for the common good: the gifts of heart knowledge, spirit knowledge, healing, and prophecy. On March 1, 1764, like Saint Francis of Assisi and other saints, she received the stigmata (wounds on her hands, feet, and side, similar to those inflicted on Christ during the crucifixion). The fame of her life and works spread throughout Sicily, reaching the court of King Ferdinand of Bourbon and Queen Maria Carolina — who reportedly visited her — and even to Rome, to the papal court. Upon Sister Vincenza’s death on April 7, 1824, Holy Wednesday, all the people of Sambuca, deeply saddened, left their homes and gathered around the Amorelli Palace in Largo di San Michele. Due to the crowd, her body could barely be brought to the Chiesa Madre for the funeral, where it was buried in the chapel of the Holy Sacrament, in a mausoleum erected in 1825 at the initiative of her nephew, Monsignor Amorelli, and her family. After her death, her fame grew even more, due to the miracles attributed to her intercession, such as the liberation of the inhabitants of Sambuca from cholera in 1837.
The cholera epidemic and the miracle of the Infant Jesus of Sister Vincenza
In 1837, Sicily was struck by a cholera epidemic. By July, the disease had reached Sambuca, resulting in 1,200 deaths among the town’s approximately 9,000 inhabitants by the 25th of the month. News spread that Sister Vincenza had appeared in dreams to several Sambuca residents, including Sister Rosa Ferraro, a highly respected local nun. This led some agitators to incite the populace to go to the Mother Church, exhume her body, and carry it in a procession, convinced that the Servant of God would bring an end to the cholera. In a state of delirium, the desperate population headed towards the Matrice, causing turmoil and forcing open its doors. Informed of the commotion, Archpriest Don Vito Planeta and Priest Don Pietro Lucido rushed to the Mother Church, attempting to dissuade the crowd from their intention to avoid compromising the remains of the Servant of God and jeopardizing her potential Beatification Process. On July 25th, amid the prayers and tears of all, the statue of the Infant Jesus of Sister Vincenza Amorelli, "to whom the Servant of God asked for all the graces she needed for herself and others," was carried in a public procession through the streets of Sambuca. When the procession reached the town center, at the intersection of Via Roma and Corso Umberto, the cholera "ceased and there were no more victims." Since then, every year on July 25th, a Te Deum is sung in honor of the Infant Jesus of Sister Vincenza, commemorating the miraculous event.
Testimonies of the miracles
Today, Sister Vincenza Maria Amorelli is a "Servant of God". The canonization cause is progressing. Among the testimonies of miracles attributed to the nun is the one Vincenzo Navarro recounts in his “Diario”. The writer, who in 1817 was a young medical student in Palermo, arrived in Sambuca from Ribera, accompanied by his mother. Deeply grieved by the death of his sister Aloisia (Navarro's sister), the woman had learned that there was a Servant of God named Sister Vincenza Amorelli in Sambuca, known for her great sanctity. It was only through the account of the many miracles performed through her intercession that she found peace and consolation. The memory of Sister Vincenza Maria Amorelli continues to live on through the testimonies of those who knew her holiness.
