Blessed Veronica of Milan

detail of a portrait Blessed Veronica of Milan in a fresco by Luigi Migliavacca, Turago Bordone, Giussago, Italy; swiped off Wikimedia CommonsAlso known as

  • Veronica of Binasco



Grew up in a poor peasant family in a small village, doing chores and working the fields. She had no formal education, and tried unsuccessfully to teach herself to read at night. She began to have religious ecstasies, visions of the life of Christ, and was taught her catechism by the Virgin Mary. Our Lady explained it in the form of three mystical letters, one that signified purity of intention, the second abhorrence of complaining, and the third a reminder to daily meditate on the Passion. Augustinian lay-sister at the convent of Saint Martha, Milan, Italy, at age 22, being instructed for three years before she was allowed to join. Assigned to beg alms in the street for the support of the house. She suffered alternating bouts of intense physical pain and religious ecstacies for years. She received a vision of Christ in 1494, and was given a message for Pope Alexander VI; she made a journey to Rome, Italy to deliver it. Following a six-month illness, she died on the date she had prophesied.





Additional Information

MLA Citation

  • “Blessed Veronica of Milan“. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 January 2010. Web. 5 May 2015. <>