Seraphina
A noblewoman turned Poor Clare abbess, beatified for her devotion amid hardship.
Seraphina (born Sveva da Montefeltro, 1434 – 8 September 1478) was an Italian beatified nun and noblewoman of the House of Montefeltro. After an arranged marriage at age fourteen to Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, she became known as Sveva Sforza. Accused by her husband of adultery and plotting to kill him, she was forced into a Poor Clare convent, where she took the name Seraphina and later became abbess. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754 and is venerated especially by Franciscans.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Sveva da Montefeltro
- Born
- 1434
- Birthplace
- Urbino
- Residence
- Pesaro
- Died
- 8 September 1478
- Venerated in
- Catholicism
- Beatified
- 17 July 1754
- Beatified by
- Pope Benedict XIV
Lore & Background
Sveva da Montefeltro was born in Urbino in the first half of 1434, daughter of Caterina Colonna (a niece of Pope Martin V) and Guido Antonio of Montefeltro, Count of Urbino. Her mother died in 1438, her father in 1443. Her older brother Oddantonio became Count and cared for her until his assassination in 1444; then her half-brother Federico became her guardian. In March 1446, the 12-year-old Sveva was implicated in Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta's plot to murder Federico. The other conspirators were executed; Sveva was sent to Rome to stay with her maternal uncle, Cardinal Prospero Colonna. In 1448, Cardinal Colonna arranged her marriage to Alessandro Sforza, a widower with two children and two illegitimate daughters. Married by proxy on 9 January 1448, she moved to Pesaro. Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro dedicated a ballo he choreographed for her in honor of the wedding.
Reader's Guide
Seraphina died in the odour of sanctity in 1478. She was popularly venerated for her life of devotion, and many miracles were attested at her tomb. When her body was exhumed some years later, it was found incorrupt. Pope Benedict XIV beatified her on 17 July 1754. Since 1810, her body has been preserved in Pesaro Cathedral. Franciscans observe her feast day on 9 September. Catholic hagiographies praise her for many years of prayer for her husband's conversion. She is sometimes presented as an example of a holy stepmother or of holiness in an abusive marriage.
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