Maria Grazia Tarallo was an Italian Roman Catholic nun. She was a member of the congregation known as the Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Holy Eucharist. Tarallo assumed the new name of "Maria of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" upon the occasion of her solemn profession. Tarallo was an ardent disciple of Jesus Christ and strode to achieve personal holiness during her life while extending that holiness to others that she had met. She was well known for her charitable nature as well as her strong devotion to the Eucharist. Tarallo was beatified in Naples in 2006 to confirm her pious life and also due to the miracle attributed to her intercession. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins – on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI – presided over the celebration himself.
Life
Maria Grazia Tarallo was born on 23 September 1866 in Naples to Leopoldo Tarallo and Concetta Borriello; she was the second of seven children. Tarallo was baptized on 24 September 1866. She received a Christian education and had even made private vows to remain a virgin at the foot of a statue of the Mother of God at the age of five in the church of Ave Gratia Plena. She made her First Communion at the age of seven and received confirmation at the age of ten; she received First Communion so soon because her parish priest deemed her prepared enough to take the sacrament. Tarallo felt drawn to religious life and decided at the age of 22 to enter a convent despite the opposition of her parents who desired her to consider marriage. Such a man – Raffaele Aruta – indeed proposed to her but died of tuberculosis before a wedding could be planned in 1890; this changed the decision of her father. She entered the convent of the Sisters Crucified Adorers of the Eucharist in Barra on 1 June 1891 and assumed the name of "Maria of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" upon her solemn profession on 20 November 1892. She was a student of Maddalena Rosa Notari – future Servant of God – and served as a novice mistress and spiritual guide to the sisters. She is believed to have been granted the gift from God to receive prophetic visions, which she used to help guide her sisters and others around her. According to tradition, she also suffered demonic possessions and placed her faith in God in order to counter such assaults and false visions. For example, in one traditional account, once in meditation the devil had struck her to the point where her right arm became useless despite surgical procedures. In 1894 she established a home in Salerno and another close to Naples to spread the work of the sisters. Tarallo died in 1912.
Beatification
The beatification process commenced in Naples under Pope Pius X in 1913 in a process that spanned until 1918 despite the fact that the formal introduction for the cause did not come until 14 March 1928 under Pope Pius XI – this granted her the title Servant of God. Both processes were given the formal decree of ratification so that the cause could proceed to the next level for further evaluation in 1937. However the Positio – documents on her life and virtues – was not given to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome until 1995. It allowed Pope John Paul II to proclaim her to be Venerable on 19 April 2004 after he had recognized her life of heroic virtue. The miracle required for beatification was investigated and ratified on 10 October 1995. It received the formal approval of Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2005 and allowed for her beatification in 2006.
