Miracle of Bl. Imelda Lambertini (Detail; VVP 010)

Born into a noble family of Bologna, Italy, Blessed Imelda Lambertini (1322-1333) was a precociously religious child devoted to St. Agnes of Rome; Mary, Queen of Heaven; and the Holy Eucharist. At age five, she built an oratory in her home. At age nine, she entered a Dominican convent school in preparation for the religious life. At age eleven despite not being of canonical age (then age twelve), she received her First Communion owing to a miracle. And, then… she died. + The image here depicts the miracle. Allowed to don a novice’s habit and to follow the life of a Dominican nun as much as a child of her tender years was able, Bl. Imelda was, nevertheless, denied the Eucharist--until, that is, Ascension Day 1333 when a host was seen hovering above her after Mass. Having been summoned by one of the nuns to witness the sight, the priest duly administered the sacrament. Left alone to offer thanksgiving, Bl. Imelda failed to appear in Refectory for breakfast. A nun found her kneeling as they had left her. When tapped on the shoulder, the young novice fell over. Her deepest longing fulfilled, Bl. Imelda had died of pure joy. + Blessed Imelda Lambertini is patron of First Communicants--especially of girls making their First Holy Communion. + Feast: May 12 + Image Credit (VVP 010): Detail of an antique NeoGothic image depicting the Eucharistic Miracle of Blessed Imelda Lambertini from a devotional print in chromolithography originally published by K[arel] van de Vyvere-Petyt, Bruges, Belgium, late 19th century, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.