Saint Hyacintha Mariscotti: Model of Dedication and Self-Denial

On January 30, Franciscans honor the memory of St. Hyacintha Mariscotti (1585-1640), a nun of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. Hyacintha’s life illustrates that conversion to deep, authentic Gospel values at times takes unusual paths.

She was born Clarice Marescotti [Italian usage prefers this alternate spelling] into a prominent noble family, the Counts of Vignanello, near Viterbo, Italy. As an adolescent, she developed a frivolous temperament, which even her education at a Franciscan convent in Viterbo could not tame. Returning home, at the age of 20, Clarice set her heart on marrying a Roman marquis, but he passed her up to marry her younger sister instead! Her resentment due to this rejection made her impossible to live with harmoniously in the family, and so, her parents virtually forced her to become a nun in the convent where she had been educated -- the only socially acceptable alternative to marriage at the time for a noblewoman.

Castello Ruspoli, Vignanello. Hyacintha's family estate (Mtl1969, Creative Commons CCO, public domain).

Now Sister Hyacintha (Giacinta in Italian), she let it be known that she intended to lead the life of a nun in name only. She did participate regularly in the liturgical life of the community and observed chastity, but otherwise continued to enjoy the comforts of high society to which she was accustomed: her own apartment with luxurious clothes and furnishings, her own food, and freedom to come and go as she pleased. Her way of life was a source of division in the community for ten years.

However, Hyacintha fell quite ill, and when the friar chaplain was admitted to her quarters to bring her communion, he challenged her inauthentic lifestyle. Hyacintha took his message to heart and subsequently changed her life completely.  She did public penance before the community and renounced her luxuries, becoming a model of dedication and self-denial, ready to perform the lowliest tasks in the house. She was noted for her severe penitential practices. Eventually, she was appointed director of novices and in this role showed remarkable practical insight and discernment. Furthermore, she was very active in works of charity, although her own activity was limited by the cloister; she organized two lay confraternities in Viterbo -- Oblates of Mary or "Sacconi" -- one to care for the sick and the poor, the other to provide housing for the elderly; she went out herself to beg alms for their work.

Interior of church of St. Hyacintha in Viterbo. This was originally the chapel of the monastery where Hyacintha lived; it was reconstructed in a modern style after being badly damaged in World War II.

When Hyacintha was canonized in 1807, the Papal decree said that “through her apostolate of charity, she won more souls to God than many preachers of her time.”