Sister Maria Raffaela Coppola, flower of the cloister and radiant figure of holiness

La versione italiana di questo articolo di Carlo Coppola si trova su "In Città Giovinazzo" diretto dal prof. Antonio Calisi al seguente indirizzo: https://www.incittagiovinazzo.it/2025/06/23/la-figura-luminosa-della-serva-di-dio-suor-maria-raffaela-coppola/

«Քույր Մարիա Ռաֆայելա Կոպոլա՝ վանքի ծաղիկը և սրբության պայծառ կերպարը»: Կառլո Կոպպոլայի հոդված. 

Two years since the close of the Diocesan Phase in Naples

Naples, June 23, 2025 – Exactly two years ago today, on June 23, 2023, a crucial phase in the recognition of the sanctity of Sister Maria Raffaela Coppola came to a close in Naples. In the presence of Archbishop Domenico Battaglia – now also Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church – the diocesan inquiry into the life, virtues, and reputation for holiness of the Capuchin nun from Casal di Principe concluded at the Monastery of Santa Maria in Gerusalemme, known as the "Thirty-Three" on Via Pisanelli in Naples.

Born Maria Teresa Coppola on February 26, 1883, in Casal di Principe to a family of prosperous farmers, the future religious received her early Christian formation within her family and from the Daughters of Saint Anne. She felt the call to religious life at an early age and, after a period of discernment, entered the Neapolitan monastery of the Capuchin Sisters of Santa Maria in Gerusalemme, a community known as "the Thirty-Three" for the symbolic number of nuns who comprised it, in remembrance of the years of Christ's earthly life.

Sister Maria Raffaela, who adopted her religious name upon taking the habit, embraced the contemplative life as a choir sister, devoting herself entirely to prayer and Eucharistic adoration. Her spirituality was characterized by a profound dimension of reparation: she offered herself as a victim of love for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls, uniting her sufferings with those of Christ on the cross.

Living in the seclusion of the cloister, the nun bore witness to an extraordinary spiritual intensity, consumed by love for the Eucharist and passion for souls. She died in the odor of sanctity on October 4, 1922, at just 39 years of age, leaving a fragrance of holiness that has never faded.

The cause for her beatification was reopened in 2015. The closure of the 2023 diocesan inquiry marked a fundamental milestone: the final session of the diocesan process took place in the ancient refectory of the convent, attended by civil and religious authorities. Among those present were the then-mayor of Casal di Principe, Dr. Renato Franco Natale; the Bishop of Aversa, His Excellency Msgr. Angelo Spinillo; and the esteemed Postulator General of the Order of Capuchin Friars, Father Carlo Calloni, along with Father Antoine Haddad.

Experts are currently examining the documentation regarding the heroic virtues of the religious. Should their judgment prove favorable, Sister Maria Raffaela could soon be declared Venerable, opening the path toward subsequent phases on the road to sainthood, which would require recognition of a miracle obtained through her intercession. On June 5, 2024, the documentation from the "diocesan phase" received approval from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Carlo Coppola