Gemma Galgani | April 11

Saint Gemma Galgani

Feast Day: April 11
Died: April 11, 1903
Patronage: Students, pharmacists, those suffering from back pain, and those seeking purity of heart

Saint Gemma Galgani, often called the Daughter of the Passion, was born in Lucca, Italy, in 1878. From childhood, she displayed extraordinary piety and an ardent love for Our Lord Crucified. She was blessed with mystical experiences of Christ, Our Lady, and her guardian angel, and later received the holy stigmata, bearing in her own body the marks of the Passion.

Denied entrance to the Passionist convent due to her frail health, Gemma instead offered her home and her suffering as a hidden monastery of love. Her purity, humility, and obedience made her a living reflection of Christ’s meekness. Her relics are preserved in Lucca, drawing pilgrims who seek healing and spiritual renewal. Saint Gemma reminds the faithful that suffering, when united to Christ, becomes a radiant act of love.