|
Addolorata
Immacolata “Mama”Gili
The
Saintly Woman of Orange,
New Jersey:
True Apostle of the
Holy Face of Jesus
A
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF “MAMA” GILI
Addolorata
Immacolata (Dolores Immaculate) Penza was born in Atripalda, Italy, on May
7, 1892, one of six children. Her parents gave her a deep religious
education. As a child, Dolores particularly loved St. Francis of
Assisi, a devotion that would remain for the rest of her life.
Just before Dolores’
17th birthday, she requested permission from her parents to visit her three
brothers who had emigrated to the United States.
Her visit lasted a lifetime.
Upon
arriving in the United States, Dolores went to live with her brother,
Umberto, and his family in Brooklyn, New York. She learned to speak
English very quickly and entered the workforce as a skilled embroiderer at
the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan. She had learned the art
of embroidery as a young girl in Italy.
On the morning of
Saturday, March 25, 1911, Dolores was ironing the blouse that she intended
to wear that day. While ironing, Dolores burned her hand so badly that
she was unable to go to work. And thus, she was providentially spared
from the infamous fire that claimed the lives of 146 young immigrant workers
employed there. Dolores did show up later in the day to collect her pay and
to report the reason for her absence only to witness the actual fire and the
poor souls who were jumping to their deaths rather than being burned alive.
Dolores had another
brother living nearby in New Jersey. While visiting him, she was
introduced to a successful businessman named Joseph F. Gili. Joseph
owned and operated a construction company on Hurlbut Street in his hometown
of Orange, New Jersey. Not far from his home and office was the church
of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, a parish founded for the Italian immigrant
community in that area.
In
this church, the two were married on October 2, 1913. Together the
couple had five children: daughters Claudia, Helen and Florida, and sons
Caesar and Joseph, Jr.
A devoted wife and
loving mother, Dolores found time to welcome people into her home to assist
them in their various needs. Dolores had received a wonderful
education in Italy, and now used it to assist the people in her
neighborhood, many of whom were Italian immigrants with no formal education.
Dolores would read and write letters for those who could not. She
would often invite her guests to pray the Rosary with her. She also
loved to read selections from The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi
to those assembled in her home.
Dolores’
special devotion to St. Francis caused her to pray incessantly for a
particular intention. Dolores prayed that priests from the Order of
Friars Minor, founded by St. Francis, would come to her parish, Our Lady of
Mt. Carmel. In the late 1920’s, Dolores’ prayer was answered when the
Archbishop asked the Capuchin Friars Minor, a branch of the Order of Friars
Minor, to assume responsibility for the parish.
Dolores was so
confident that her prayer would be answered that when the Capuchins arrived
they found that she had already organized and instructed a group of lay
people from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in the Rule of the Third Order of St.
Francis, known as today as the Secular Franciscan Order.
In 1927, Dolores and
Joseph purchased a piece of land on Minton Place in Orange and built a home
there. Sadly, Joseph passed away just a few years later in 1931,
leaving Dolores alone to provide for her children. The Great
Depression had struck the country, making it difficult for many to survive.
Dolores’ faith never wavered. She worked two jobs and trusted in God
to provide for her family.
Although
Dolores experienced many difficult times in her life, her house remained
open to all as a shelter of prayer and charitable work.
Over the years,
Dolores continued to be a devoted mother and grandmother to her growing
family. She continued to serve and encourage all who passed through
her door, and became “Mama” to them all.
In October 1953,
after forty-four years in the United States, Mama Gili returned to her
native Italy for a visit. While in her hometown of Atripalda, Mama sat
quietly in church praying when she was approached by a saintly Franciscan
priest, Fr. Bonaventure Martignetti, O.F.M. He told her that he had
been waiting to share something with her. Mama followed Fr.
Bonaventure into his office where he showed her a picture of the Holy Face
of Jesus from the Shroud of Turin. The picture was streaming with
blood. The
sight of the Divine Face bruised and bloodied inflamed her with zeal to
promote tirelessly the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. Fr.
Martignetti told her that she would bring the Holy Face to America and share
it with many others. Mama did just as Fr. Martignetti had said.
She organized holy hours of reparation and enthronement of the Holy Face in
private homes and in churches. She distributed holy cards and medals
of the Holy Face by the thousands at home and abroad. Mama even set
aside a room in her house where she displayed a large picture of the Holy
Face for the contemplation of the many visitors who came to pray.
Although
her new work promoting the devotion to the Holy Face took up much of her
time, Mama Gili continued to serve others with her extraordinary gift for
listening to people in difficulty, and for encouraging and inspiring all to
live an authentic Christian life of love for God and neighbor.
Many people found
their way to Mama’s house, including a young priest from Italy who was
working in the Archdiocese of Newark, Fr. Dante DiGirolamo. Fr. Dante
had so much admiration and love for Mama, and she for him, that they
mutually adopted each other as mother and son.
In
1962, Mama set out for Portugal, with Fr. Dante, on a pilgrimage to Fatima.
During their trip, Mama remarked to Fr. Dante that she would very much like
to meet the exiled King of Italy, Umberto di Savoia, whose family, at that
time, was in possesion of the Shroud of Turin. The king’s personal
photographer, who happened to be walking by, overheard Mama’s remark and
arranged for she and Fr. Dante to meet King
Umberto. King Umberto was so impressed by Mama and her devotion to the
Holy Face that he visited her in her home in Orange, New Jersey in 1963.
He referred to her as “Mama” and corresponded with her until his death.
In 1965,
Mama was named Woman of the Year by
the Italian Tribune newspaper. She was honored for, among other
things, her work with many charities, for helping the Capuchin Friars to
establish themselves at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Church, and for
organizing the Third Order of St. Francis.
In
1971, with the permission of Archbishop Thomas Boland of Newark, Mama
constructed a shrine to the Holy Face of Jesus alongside her home. The
shrine and statues of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and St. Francis were
all arranged beautifully in her garden.
As Mama grew older,
she experienced many health problems. God allowed her to be an example
of patience and strength in her long illness. From 1978 until her death in
1985, she was completely bedridden. She accepted her sufferings as God's
Will and offered them for the Church, for priests, religious, married
couples, the youth and all those who would recommend themselves to her
prayers.
Addolorata Immacolata
Gili passed into eternal rest on October 26, 1985 and was laid to rest in
St. John Cemetery. Mama Gili lived and died as a true apostle of the
Holy Face Of Jesus.
After Mama’s death,
Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Newark, appointed Fr. Dante to record the
events of her life for the cause of her beatification. Fr. Dante
organized the Society of the Holy Face/Mama Gili Guild to assist him in this
endeavor to continue to spread the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.
Rev. Dante
DiGirolamo, S.T.L.
Society of the Holy
Face of Jesus/Mama Gili Guild
P.O. Box 455
Kearny, NJ 07032-0455
|
