CHAPTER X

July-September, 1899

The GIANNINI FAMILY receives Gemma as an Adopted Child

THERE IS in Lucca a truly patriarchal family, that of Chevalier Matthew Giannini, in which virtues are held as the greatest riches. It consists of father, mother, the father’s sister Cecilia and twelve children. They are greatly esteemed, and dear to all the citizens. This family have gladly given the hospitality of their home as benefactors to the poor Sons of St. Paul of the Cross, who often pass that way in the exercise of their apostolic ministry. Signora Cecilia Giannini is a lady wholly given to doing good. She only knew Gemma by sight; that was when they met daily at Holy Communion. To see the child was to be drawn to her. She seemed to her future friend like an angel in human flesh.

About this time Father Cajetan of the child Jesus, on his return to Lucca from the Mission at S. Martino of which we have spoken, asked Signora Cecilia to fetch him the Servant of God as he had promised to see her. She readily embraced an opportunity of becoming acquainted with Gemma, and having sought and brought her to the father, realized at the same time that she had found a treasure never to be relinquished. Gemma in her turn was struck by the lady’s charming ways and by the solid and vigorous virtue of her whom she felt she was to have in the place of a mother. The family were away for the summer season, and this gave the signora a good motive for asking Gemma to come often and spend a few hours of the day with her. Gemma’s people knowing the high reputation of the other family made no difficulty. From having the angelic girl’s company by day followed the wish to keep her overnight, and on the pretext of needing a companion because feeling so lonely she obtained this favor also, at least now and then. Gemma rejoiced greatly at this leave as she seemed thus to find herself as it were in her proper places She breathed a purer atmosphere and felt her soul uplifted whenever she was able to be with such a valued companion. In her own home difficulties increased every day, and she was obliged to treat with all sorts of persons. She tried hard to stand aloof attending to her work and to prayer, but she could not always succeed.

It happened once that in a quarrel she heard the Divine Majesty spoken of irreverently, and so great was her grief at it, that she began to sweat blood from here whole body to such an excess that it ran down to the ground. Her consternation was great. What was to be done? For some time back her family had noticed a change in her bearing; doubts were raised about her, and they asked one another what it meant. A few gossipers, even outside the family, caused uneasiness particularly to her Aunt to whom the candid child had a short time before shown her hands bleeding from the stigmata. Gemma herself giving an account to her Confessor of what happened, after the phenomenon of her sweating blood wrote thus:

“Monsignor, one of my aunts, yesterday when I went to my room, followed me in a great rage, and said: This evening you do not have thy sister Julia to defend you! Let me see at once whence all that blood has come or I will beat thee into obedience. I remained silent, while she with one hand held my throat and with the other tried to undress me. She did not succeed; just then the bell rang and she left me. . . . But that was not all. “When I was going to bed she returned saying that it was time to put an end to these fooleries and that I had done enough to deceive others. If you do not tell me, she said, whence that blood has come, I will not allow thee to leave the house alone, or send thee anywhere.

“You can imagine at those words I began to cry, and knew not what to do. At last I determined to tell her, and answered thus: Blasphemies are the cause; I see how much they make Jesus suffer, and I suffer with Him, and my heart suffers, and that blood comes from it! She then cooled a little and left me alone.” This was not the only time that the Servant of God suffered in her family through her relatives’ ignorance of God’s dealings with her. Her kind Aunt Helen through illness could not accompany her to church; the other would not allow her to go alone; the curiosity of some, even of the servants, beset her. They watched her everywhere and even spied her actions through the chinks in her room door.

Coming on her unawares while in ecstasy, in the same way, they judged wrongly of what they beheld and invited others to come and see her in that state. She deplored all this to her Confessor, and also to Our Lord Who likewise had commanded her to keep everything hidden from profane eyes. One can easily imagine Gemma’s gladness, at the prospect of being away from such surroundings and able to commune freely with God without any fear of disturbance. Meanwhile Signora Cecilia had better opportunities of admiring her charming young friend’s virtues, her ingenuous simplicity and striking modesty, and thus came to love her more and more. She at first was somewhat perplexed by the phenomena she so often witnessed, and set herself to carefully and continually examine them. Gemma, on the other hand, through her innate bashfulness and modesty did all in her power to keep hidden. Being convinced of her own unworthiness she feared she would scandalize her benefactress were the latter to become aware of the heavenly favors she was receiving. But her delicate reserve was of no avail, as God willed the gifts of His grace to become known. Here is how she wrote to her Confessor of one of her misfortunes as she called them:

“Yesterday Jesus made me suffer greatly. I sweated blood all day; but not at home; it was with Signora Cecilia Giannini. Jesus continually warns me not to let my personal happenings get known; otherwise He punishes me; He always tells me that I ought to be ashamed to let myself be seen by anyone being so full of defects.”

The pious hostess without displaying any surprise, in order not to disconcert her guest, blessed Our Lord in her heart and more and more venerated and loved her charming protégée. “Viva Gesu!” she used to say. “We have an angel in the house. How shall I act? How can I prove my gratitude to Our Lord for such a grace?”

Two of the Passionist Fathers, Cajetan and Peter Paul, passing through Lucca at this time had an opportunity of seeing Gemma and of witnessing the phenomenon of the stigmata which was repeated every Thursday and Friday as has been said. Signora Cecilia, who saw these things regularly, asked explanation and advice of the fathers; they approved of her prudent reserve, exhorting her to observe the favored child and inform them at intervals of what happened.

When the family returned to the City, Miss Giannini, who was greatly troubled at the thought of having to part with her dear Gemma, took courage, and presenting herself to her brother and his wife said to them: “God has sent me this Angel whom you see here. Could she not remain with us? We have eleven children in the house; what signifies one more?” They gave their consent. No sooner said than done; she proposed it to Gemma’s aunts, and they seeing too truly that it had become impossible for her to live at home, owing to the want of means, gave their consent, although it cost than much to be separated from their only comfort in the midst of so many privations.

At first they allowed her to go during the day only, but finally, in September, 1900, agreed to her living permanently with this good family. Does not all this appear to be a miracle of Divine Providence? Pious single women, widows or otherwise, living in their own homes are sometimes found willing through a spirit of penance, or for their own convenience, or for company’s sake, to adopt poor little destitute or orphan girls. But in a numerous family composed of father, mother, aunt and eleven children (all under twenty) with not a few servants—and already insufficient house room—this does not happen.

Surely the thought of that good lady might seem not only precipitate and rash, but impossible to be carried out. And this more so when it is considered that the young girl whom it was proposed to adopt lost her mother through consumption, and was the sister of five consumptives either dead or dying. By what strange caprice then could they have been led to introduce so much that was dangerous into their home, and to bring one with such antecedents to live with healthy children? But God willed it thus; and when God wills, “there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord”

The pious lady spoke to her brother and his wife, the mother of the children, and both were favorable. She spoke also to the elder children, to others in the house, and to a priest, D. Laurence Agrimonti, who for some time had been living with the family as a second father; all were fully satisfied.

“Gemma is most welcome,” said these pious parents. “She shall be the twelfth child that heaven has given us. Let everyone honor this new daughter; let the servants respect her, and let her want nothing.”

But nothing more was needed than to look at this girl of twenty, in order to be rapt in admiration. The reader already knows something of this. Humble, docile, courteous, free from all levity or caprice; and moreover so devout, so good to all. During the four years she was with the family of her adopted parents she never gave occasion for the least misunderstanding or dispute, either with the young people or with the servants. And yet who will not acknowledge it to be an extraordinary thing that from children of different ages, sex and temperament, there was never heard a disparaging word against one who had come to live with them, not as a servant, but as an equal taking part in. Everything as one of themselves? The facts that are related in this Biography of Gemma Galgani are all recent and can be verified by anyone.

“I am able to declare on oath,” says the mother of this family, “that during the three years and eight months that Gemma was with us, I never knew of the least trouble arising in our family on her account; and I never noticed in her the least defect. I repeat, not the smallest trouble, not the smallest defect.”

All other witnesses bear the same testimony as we shall see by degrees.