Justina of Arezzo, Bl.

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JUSTINA OF AREZZO, BL.

Baptized Francuccia Bezzoli; benedictine nun, anchorite; b. Arezzo, Italy; d. there, Mar. 12, 1319. She entered the convent of Santa Maria del Ponte in her native city at the age of 13 and later, with the permission of her superiors, left the convent and joined an anchoress named Lucia living in a cell near Civitella. She remained there alone after the death of her companion, until blindness forced her return to Arezzo, where she lived for another 20 years exhibiting great patience and prayerfulness. Her cult was confirmed in 1890, and her relics are kept in Santo Spirito in Arezzo. She is invoked in cases of blindness and for other diseases of the eyes.

Feast: March 12.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum, Mar. 2:238241. Spicilegium monasticum 1 (Rome 1896) 1934. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige 1:318, 322. a. m. zimmermann, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche 2 5:1226. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints 1:578579.

[c. r. byerly]