A Silent Herald of Unity: The Life of Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu

Martha Driscoll's biography on this Italian Trappistine nun, Blessed Maria Gabriella (d. 1939), is a provoking look at a kind of martrydom most of us would find difficult to reconcile. Her untimely death within a few years of her entry into the monastery is explained by Andrew Marr, OSB in his preface.

"The French priest Paul Couturier, who had become devoted to the cause of church unity, interested Sister Maria Gabriella's superior, Mother Pia, in this cause. It was Abbe Couturier who asked Mother Pia if she might pass on her request that any sisters in the community who felt so moved by the Holy Spirit, offer their lives for the cause of church unity. The prayer intention Abbe Couturier was asking for was that a sister might offer her life for the furtherance of a specific intention with the expectation that God would take her life in the near future, but yet be open to the possibility of living a full life devoted to that cause. Mother Pia felt moved to present this prayer intention to her community. Sister Maria Gabriella was one of two sisters who felt moved to offer themselves" (pg. xi).

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