María Gabriela Sagheddu (1914–1939)

Biography

A young Sardinian woman of strong character, Maria Sagheddu experienced a conversion that transformed her energy into service and prayer. She entered the Trappist monastery of Grottaferrata and received the name Maria Gabriella. Upon learning of the prayer movement for Christian unity, she offered her life to God for that intention with the permission of her abbess. Shortly afterward he fell ill with tuberculosis and died at the age of twenty-five. His dedication gave the contemplative vocation an ecumenical dimension and reminded that unity begins in the conversion of the heart.