The Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the congregation of sisters founded by the Servant of God Mother Clelia Merloni (1861-1930), are thankful that the diocesan phase of a miracle attributed to Mother Clelia was closed on 11 April 2011. The documentation is now at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Holy See. These efforts move Merloni one step closer to beatification.
The Diocese of Rome which is handling the study for Mother Clelia’s cause finished its work on 1 April 1998; on 7 August 1999, approval from the Congregation for Saints the diocesan work. The postulator is Father Luca M. DeRosa, OFM.
This year marks Mother Clelia’s 150th anniversary of birth; she was a native of Forli, Italy. Her mother died when Clelia was 4 years old and her grandmother raised her. She died on November 21, 1930.
Through the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Merloni as a “significant religious figure and apostle of the Sacred of Heart of Jesus” and he sasid she was “solicitous in doing good, attentive especially to the poor in body and spirit.”
Several miracles attributed to Mother Clelia’s intercession are being investigated, notably Dominic Gatti of St Louis, MO, who as a pre-born infant was said to have had a brain tumor and was cured. His parents, and later Dominic, prayed to Mother Clelia for her intercession.
“Let us be determined to become saints. We must imitate their humility, sweetness of sacrifice, spirit of faith, but especially their love for the Sacred Heart.” (Mother Clelia Merloni)