Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi
Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, OCarm (; born Caterina Lucrezia de' Pazzi; April 2, 1566 – May 25, 1607), was an Italian Carmelite nun and mystic. She has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Life De' Pazzi was born at Florence, Italy, on April 2, 1566, to Camillo di Geri de' Pazzi, a member of one of the wealthiest and most distinguished noble families of Renaissance Florence, and Maria Buondelmonti. She was christened Caterina Lucrezia, but in the family was called with her second name, out of respect for her paternal grandmother, Lucrezia Mannucci. At the age of nine de' Pazzi was taught how to meditate by the family chaplain, using a then-recently published work explaining how one should meditate on the Passion of Christ. Years later, this book was one of the items she brought with her to the monastery. Around the age of nine is also when de' Pazzi began practicing mortification of the flesh through self-flagellation, wearing a barbed metal cilice, and wearing a home-made crown of thorns. She received her First Communion at the then-early age of 10 and made a vow of virginity the same year. She experienced her first ecstasy when she was