“Patience is never more important than when you are at the edge of losing it.”

Camilla was a princess born in 1498 to Duke Julius Caesar Varani of Camerino, Italy. Her father was Duke Julius Caesar Varano of Camerino and her mother was the daughter of Prince Sigismund of Rimini.

As a young girl, after hearing a Good Friday homily, she contemplated and vowed to mourn the passion of Christ by shedding tears and praying a meditation every Friday for the rest of her life. It was difficult because of her vivacious personality and the aristocratic distractions of her household, but she persevered.

She grew in faith and announced her intentions of renouncing her royal heritage to become a Poor Clare nun at the age of 21. Her father objected and kept her in prison for 2 ½ years. He had a change of heart and finally relented, fearing that he might incite Divine vengeance for thwarting God’s plan. Not only did he gave her permission, but he bought a monastery for the Poor Claires.

At the age of 23, she joined the order and took the name Battista and eventually became the abbess.

While living in a monastery in Urbino, she experienced visions, interior illumination, and composed several spiritual works that have inspired many.

Due to persecution, her brothers and father were killed and she suffered greatly. With additional mental suffering, she felt abandonment and desolation, finding herself in a spiritual crisis. She wrote about battling the devil and his temptations to rebel against God. She was forced to flee and founded a monastery in Fermo and trained nuns in the Rule of St. Clare.

She died alone, at the age of 66, of the Black Plague on the feast of Corpus Christi. She was buried in quicklime to avoid further contamination. She was canonized in 2010.

Her feast day is May 31.

For God’s Glory.