The supernaturally holy nun whose in-corrupt body still is preserved.
Deep in the Basilica of San Crisogono, is a most holy chapel with a saintly coffin. Inside are the remains of Anna Maria Taigi.
Born in Sienna, Anna Maria and her family moved to Rome when she was six years old. She later married and had seven children. Known for her charity and devotion, she joined the Secular Trinitarians in 1802. Of the many holy gifts attributed to her, the most impressive was the “miracle of the mystic globe-sun.” She would have visions of a sun-shaped globe that held images of current, past, and secret events.
When she died in 1837 it was only a few days before pilgrims started to visit her resting place despite a cholera epidemic (which some believe she was holding off while alive). In 1868 her coffin was opened and though her clothes had deteriorated, her body was found to be incorrupt. When examined again in 1920, she had begun to decompose and so her visible hands and face were covered in wax replicas. Pope Benedict the XV declared her protector of families and mothers in 1920. Special masses are still held in her chapel to this day.
After having seen in mysterious sun the loss of so many souls, the Blessed Anna Maria turned with great fervor to the Most Holy Virgin, when she heard dedicated to her from on high the following prayer, which was later enriched by Pius VII through a decree of March 6, 1809, with a hundred days’ indulgence for each day, and a plenary indulgence once a month for those who after having approached the holy Sacraments shall recite it every day.
Kneeling at thy most holy feet, O great Queen of Heaven, I venerate thee with the deepest respect and I confess that thou art the daughter of the Divine Father, the Mother of the Divine Word, and the Spouse of the Holy Ghost. Thou art the Treasurer and the Dispenser of mercies. Thy most pure heart, abounding in charity, sweetness, and tenderness for sinners, is the reason wherefore I call thee Mother of divine piety. Therefore with great trust I present myself to thee, mother most loving, in my affliction and distress, and I beseech thee to make me experience the truth with which thou lovest me, granting to me the grace wherefore I supplicate thee, if it is in accordance with the Divine Will, and to the advantage of my soul. Oh! Turn, I beseech thee, thy most pure eyes towards me, and those especially who have recommended themselves to my prayers.
Consider the cruel war which the devil, the world, and the flesh wage upon our souls and how many perish there from. Remember, most tender mother, that we are all thy sons redeemed with the most precious Blood of thy Only Begotten Son. Deign to supplicate with the greatest fervor the Most Holy Trinity, so that I may be granted the grace of being triumphant over the devil, the world, and all my evil passions; that grace by which the just may be sanctified the more, sinners converted, heresies overthrown, infidels enlightened and the Jews converted.
Ask, O most loving mother, this grace through the infinite goodness of the Most High God, through the merits of thy most holy Son, through the milk thou didst give Him, through the cares with which thou didst serve Him, through the love with which thou didst love Him, through the tears which thou didst shed, through the pain thou didst suffer in His most holy passion. Obtain for us the great gift that the entire world may form one people and one Church to give glory, honor, and thanks to the Most Holy Trinity and to thee who art our Intercessor. May this grace be granted us by the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the Virtue of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
