The Association Luisa
Piccarreta - Little Children of the Divine Will invited by the Daughters
of Divine Zeal at Altamura
In the
afternoon of Sunday, November 8, the Association Luisa Piccarreta - Little Children of the Divine Will
was invited by the Institute of the Daughters of Divine Zeal, at Altamura. Here
it was warmly greeted with a welcome reception and immediately an atmosphere of
brotherhood and friendship was established. The initial impact with the Institute,
almost equal to that of Corato, confirmed
from the very beginning this feeling. The purpose of the visit was, of course,
the spreading of the spirituality of Luisa Piccarreta the little daughter of
the Divine Will: the Sanctity of living in the Divine Will, a gift that God,
our merciful Father, wants to give to everyone universally.
Perhaps
not everybody knows the strong bond between Saint Annibale Maria di
Francia,
founder of the Daughters of Divine Zeal and the Servant of God Luisa
Piccarreta, the mystic from Corato. This is what happened to the representative
of the group of voluntary Association PADIF (Father Annibale di Francia) that
works inside the Institute at Altamura. She told us that several months ago,
while she was doing her volunteer service in the library of the Institute, she discovered
some books concerning our Luisa and her exchange of letters with Father
Annibale. She
was so astonished that she wanted to inaugurate the social year 2015 in the
place where you can still feel the presence of the two figures: the Institute
of the Daughters of Divine Zeal in Corato where, last March, during the Lenten
retreat, the first meeting with the Association Luisa Piccarreta - Little
Children of the Divine Will took place. On that occasion, Don Sergio spoke
about the birth and publication of The
Twenty-Four Hours of the Passion that Father Annibale wanted. (He wrote the
Preface to the text and added a Treatise on the Divine Will.) This year
marks the 100th anniversary of publication of the book.
This
aroused in all present and especially in the group from Altamura a new thirst
for knowledge about Luisa’s spirituality and they expressed the desire to
spread this knowledge to others. So they invited the Association Luisa
Piccarreta - Little Children of
the Divine Will to give a testimony in their town.
We took
our seats in the chapel where, after presenting Sister Assunta, the Association Luisa Piccarreta - Little Children of the Divine Will. and its representatives, Don Sergio began talking about the figure of
Luisa from the day of her birth on April 23, 1865. He referred to all the most
important points of her life that represent her spirituality and led her to
become a victim soul because of her love for Jesus and the salvation of mankind:
the vision of Jesus suffering under the weight of the Cross and crowned with
thorns, under her balcony; the total stiffening of her body that she called as
her usual state; her continuous dialogue
with Jesus and her revelations about Creation,
Passion, Redemption and Sanctification to learn to live in His Will on
earth as it is in heaven.
A video
titled "Dawn of a Mystery" was broadcast in support of all that was
said. Through it we retraced the life of Luisa, since she was a child, her
childhood at "Torre disperata” her perennial immolation in a bed until she died, the
years spent at the Institute of the Daughters of Divine Zeal in Corato, in
addition to some interviews, about her spirituality, with those who have a deep
knowledge as Sister Assunta, Archbishop Giovanni Battista Pichierri, Msgr.
Giannotti.
All this
was confirmed by those present, who politely followed what was said. They
participated and showed interest in increasing this initial knowledge, with
questions and short testimonies, as Sister Luisa who “met” Luisa Piccarreta
through Sister Vincenzina Caputo and Sr. Assunta, when she was in Corato. She
said that when she had just arrived at the convent, she was struck by the recurring
name of "Luisa the Saint " and was astonished that this could be
related to her. Then she discovered that it was about another Luisa, precisely,
Luisa Piccarreta, died in 1947 in the odor of sanctity.
Sister
Candida also gave her testimony. She lived and worked at the Institute of
Corato when Luisa had already ended her earthly life. Here she was given the
task to be the "teacher" of the children who attended the institute,
but Sister Candida felt inadequately prepared, not ready for that task. So she began to turn to Luisa to get some help
by her in any way. One night Luisa appeared to her in a dream, telling her and
reassuring her that Jesus is the Master and that she would be only the dog that
accompanies and is close to the sheep (the children of the Institute) never
stop smiling, what she does really.
Before
ending, we prayed all together the last decade of the Rosary that was interrupted
because of our arrival at the institute, the Salve Regina and the prayer for
the glorification of our sister Luisa Piccarreta. There was still time to visit
the room where Father Annibale stayed during his visits to the Institute at Altamura
that the next year, 2016, will reach its centenary. In this room the bed,
closet, dresser, desk, used by the Saint from Messina are kept, as well as a
large glass case containing clothes and objects belonged to him.
Next to
the room of Father Annibale there is the room that once belonged to Father
Pantaleone Palma, born in Oria (BR). He was one of the closest and main
collaborators of Father Annibale. Now this room is transformed into a small museum with other objects and vestments of the Saint.
Inside
the institute, the mortal remains of Melanie, visionary of La Salette are kept.
St. Annibale Maria di Francia had her remains moved from the cathedral of
Altamura and when she was alive he really wanted her by his side because he had
found in her, as later in Luisa, spiritual qualities and abilities.
The
mutual exchange of hospitality between the Association Luisa Piccarreta - Little Children of the Divine Will,
the group of Voluntary Association PADIF, the Daughters of Divine Zeal and all the people present in the
Chapel, is an invitation to keep alive the ties between the two cities, as
claimed by Don Sergio, so that the
knowledge of the Supreme Kingdom could spread through the intercession of Luisa
and St. Annibale Maria di Francia: the firstborn daughter and the Apostle of the Divine
Will.