Luigina Sinapi and Maria Valtorta

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Image of Luigina Sinapi restored with AI

Luigina (or Luigia) Sinapi (1916-1978), whom Maria Valtorta calls Luciana in her letters, was a seer familiar to Pope Pius XII who often consulted her. She had indeed announced to him, on behalf of the Virgin Mary, his future election when he was still only a cardinal. She also transmitted, ten years in advance, the prediction of her apparition at Tre Fontane (Rome, 1947).

At the beginning of 1950, a jubilee year during which the dogma of the Assumption was proclaimed, Luigina came, by order of Heaven, to directly challenge the Holy Office over the blockage it exercised against the work of Maria Valtorta and reported it to the Holy Father, who thought that, in accordance with his various directives, the publication was already effective.

The confrontation with the Holy Office[edit | edit source]

Context[edit | edit source]

The confrontation took place at the end of January 1950, but Maria Valtorta only learned of it at the beginning of April[1]. At that time, the writings of Maria Valtorta were known in the Vatican. After the favorable 1948 reception following the papal audience, opposition from the Holy Office manifested itself in 1949, and the protagonists had reached a stalemate that was by no means the end of the matter.

Pius XII, after encouraging the publication of the work (February 1948), had requested an imprimatur and a publisher that would not offend "certain prelates" (November 1948). This was done. Moreover, the entourage of the Holy Father solicited Maria Valtorta to locate the tomb of St. Peter being searched for at the time. Mgr Carinci and Father Bea, future cardinal, both close to the Pope, were active with Father Berti in defending the work.

On the other hand, the Holy Office opposed this publication from the end of 1948, mostly anonymously, and on February 22, 1949, the day before Ash Wednesday, Father Berti was summoned and had to hand over all the originals in his possession. They were to remain at the Holy Office "as in a tomb."

Then followed backstage turmoil between the two protagonists: the entourage of Pius XII on one side, and the Holy Office on the other. Luigina's intervention occurred at this time. Maria Valtorta specifies: "Our Lord Jesus Christ gave her the order to go to the Holy Office to reproach those ... gentlemen for the harm they have done to Souls by refusing to print the Work; the harm they have done to the Holy Father, whom all accuse of being the author of the blockage although he believes the Work approved and published according to his directives[1]." There is no interference between the two seers but, in 1950, their parallel paths would cross briefly.

Maria Valtorta, in her correspondence, calls her Luciana. But two specialists of Maria Valtorta give this name as referring to Luigina Sinapi, now Venerable[2]. Indeed, no Luciana fitting this profile is known at that time.

Emilio Biagini, in his reference work[3], puts it forward as a hypothesis to consider. Gabriele Cajano, promoter of her case on social networks, confirms it[4]. For him, Luciana would be a cover name to keep discretion on this case. This is perfectly plausible[5] in the context to be discovered.

Luigina Sinapi was known to the Holy Office and the pontifical Antechamber[6], which could not bear her closeness to the Holy Father, nor what she told him on that occasion. When she came to challenge the Holy Office on its blockage of the writings of Maria Valtorta, the meeting took a violent turn: she underwent both psychological and physical pressure, up to an explicit threat of rape.

The matter is therefore very serious, especially since the source informing Maria Valtorta is reliable. It was reported on April 1, 1950, first by Camillo Corsanego then, on April 2, by Lorenzo Ferri. Both were familiar with the corridors of the Vatican. Camillo Corsanego was the Dean of the consistory counselors[7]. He was the only lay member to attend the inaugural sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which attests to his position. He was also one of the founding members of the Italian Christian Democracy. Lorenzo Ferri, for his part, participated in the Holy Door contest held at that time.

The démarche to the Holy Office that threatens her[edit | edit source]

This is what Maria Valtorta wrote, taking care to point out that "all are controlled information, confirmed by personalities" because what she reveals is a violent reality:
My Mother,

[…] Listen. And know that all of this is controlled information, confirmed by personalities such as the honorable Corsanego, who came to see me on Saturday, April 1, and Professor Ferri who came on April 2. He is a professor-sculptor-painter, winner of the sketches for the doors of Saint Peter in Rome. He came to me because he will be the illustrator of the work[8] (he gives his work free to honor Jesus and Mary), and also because he has been working to make figures of Christ for 22 years; but, after reading the book (he is a true Catholic), he realized he had made Christs that do not resemble Him.

[…] Know that in Rome lives a Soul guided on extraordinary paths[9], a Woman not yet thirty years old who is often called by the Holy Father for supernatural insights[10].

Naturally, the Holy Office and the pontifical Antechamber, as well as many prelates of the Roman Curia, hate her because she reveals to the Holy Father the unsavory aspects of so many prelates... But they cannot prevent her from going to the pontiff because she has a paralyzing power[11], so if she wants to, she passes without obstacles being able to stop her[1].
One will note this Protection of Heaven which is also mentioned in the Gospels where the Enemies of Jesus can do nothing as long as the hour has not come. It is also found in the lives of mystics.
At the beginning of her Mission, she was slandered, called "hysterical", "possessed" and so on. She was subjected to exorcisms. They tried to lock her up, first in a psychiatric hospital, then in a convent. But in the end, they had to give up and let her do as she pleased.

In January (towards the end of the month) Our Lord Jesus Christ gave her the order to go to the Holy Office to reproach those ... gentlemen for the harm they have done to the Souls by refusing the printing of the Work; the harm they have done to the Holy Father, whom all accuse of being the author of the blockage although he believes the Work approved and published, approved according to his directives; the harm done to me, who was deceived by them; finally the harm done to a religious order which would gain prestige and use for its Missions ravaged by the War from her work.

Imagine what happened!

They furiously attacked her, saying "she should not have concerned herself, because they knew what they were doing and if they forbade the printing it was because this Work was the heretical fruit of a possessed Woman" and so on." And when Luciana declared: "I will go see His Holiness and reveal your actions to him", they warned her: "Woe to you if you tell him about this! We forbid you." Luciana replied: "God wants me to speak, and I will speak!".

They then beat her[12] then exorcised her until she said: "It is yourselves you must exorcise, for the devil is in you, not in me."

Then... they tried to rape her[13] (you understand?) Saying: "We will give you the visions! When your uterus is tired and satisfied, you will see that everything will be over!" After this, they take it badly that God dictates: "My Church is no longer holy, and that is why communism and God's chastisement are coming!"

But thanks to her power, Luciana paralyzed the one who was about to take away her purity (Luciana is not married) and the paralysis did not cease until, eight days later, he publicly admitted that he had tried to do Violence"[1].

Luigina reports to Pius XII[edit | edit source]

Meanwhile, Luciana went to see the Holy Father and told him everything, first of all that God had told her that the work (of Maria Valtorta) came from God.

The Holy Father was astonished because he had given other directives. He said: "I will call a person and question him. What is certain is that I do not have aides, but Judases."

Luciana came back a few days later with a statement in which it is said that "Mgr Carinci, the honorable Corsanego and the honorable Tredici, Mgr Lattanzi, Father Roschini, etc., etc., have read and judged, etc., etc., so it is requested that His Holiness intervene, etc., etc.". The Holy Father put this in his breviary, assuring that he had always been very favorable to the publication (of the Work) and that he wanted it. Luciana wanted this to be written on the statement to show it to those of the Holy Office. But His Holiness replied: "No. I do not want to act by intimidation. I will call them to make them reflect, and if they oppose, I will take the matter in hand." Indeed, he called Mgr Ottaviani, counselor of the Holy Office, but he would hear nothing.

Then His Holiness began to personally examine the question, setting aside all the Congregations. He had indeed found, in each of them, indifferent or sly people who did not warn him of the truth of things, even though they had the opportunity to oppose him in private every week.

Luciana went back to see the Holy Father to repeat to him the direct communication of Jesus according to which the Work "comes Good from God" who wants its publication"[1].
Heaven was apparently also outraged if one believes what Maria Valtorta reports in a subsequent letter[14]:
"I don't know if you have heard that on Holy Thursday evening, Father Mariano Cordovani, Master of the Sacred Palaces, theologian of the Secretariat of State, little chief of the Holy Office and main opponent of the Work, suddenly died of a stroke without even having time to say "My Jesus!".
Shortly thereafter, Maria Valtorta saw the face of Father Cordovani emerging from the flames of Purgatory. He looks at her contritely, unable to speak. It is Jesus who comments: "Do you see him? Do you recognize him? He is there. And he will be there for a long, long, long time for the sole reason of having fought Me, you and the Work, acting against Wisdom, Charity, Justice. Mark what you see, briefly, and what I say, with the greatest accuracy. Because it is the truth, for the one you saw and for many who have acted or will act like him[15]." That is why his death was interpreted as a sign.

From these episodes, one sees that Pope Pius XII was neither respected nor obeyed by some members of the Holy Office who ended up believing they had the right to censor this 74-year-old pope. This lack of consideration would be found two years later when Mgr Giovanni Pepe, in charge of censoring books on the Index in 1952, banned books talking about Padre Pio without referring to the Holy Father, who dismissed him.

The work goes through tribulations[edit | edit source]

The Holy Father continued to see Luciana who informed him of the counteroffensive being organized in the Vatican against the Work given to Maria Valtorta. She mentions it in another letter[14]:
I - Luciana, this person I spoke to you about, came back to His Holiness on March 29 (1950). His Holiness reconfirmed that he was personally handling the matter. Indeed, the Memorandum that Luciana had brought him some time before, and which exposed the petition and purpose of the honorable Corsanego and Tredici and of Mgr Lattanzi, and which His Holiness had put in his Breviary, had passed from His Holiness to Cardinal Nicola Canali, who is one of the cardinals of the Holy Office and Cardinal Protector of the Order of the Servites of Mary.

II. He then told Luciana that the honorable Corsanego and Tredici, Mgr Lattanzi and Father Roschini, principal theologian of the Order of the Servants of Mary, and reviewer of books at the Holy Office, as well as member of the Congregation of Rites (thus with His Excellency Mgr Carinci) were requesting again a special audience.

III. Father Roschini, before doing so, had spoken with Luciana and was convinced that everything was true. To such an extent that he wrote me the words: "It seems that the resurrection of the work is now near."

IV - Professor Ferri also spoke with Luciana, the one who made the two heads of Jesus, in my room on Palm Sunday. He showed her several heads, including these two, and Luciana confidently said: "This is Him, the others are not." More proof in my favor.

V. On the evening of the 17th, Fathers Migliorini and Berti went to the honorable Corsanego to tell him to renew the request for an audience with the head of the Antechamber, Mgr Callori di Vignale[16]. Now we will see if he repeats the pretense of saying "Yes" and then saying "not granted by order of His Holiness". In that case, Luciana will return to the Holy Pontiff and report. But I believe after the punishments of God, such a desire will pass!

[…] VI. Luciana's spiritual director also wrote to me saying: "Do not worry about the book being printed, because Jesus said it clearly even through Luciana. We are waiting for the opportune hour which will certainly come. We await it with great faith and comfort the effect by the contribution of our suffering and prayer."
Faced with this breeze of optimism, Maria Valtorta does not want to believe the pessimistic predictions of Fr. Luigi Maria who rather foresees the blockage of the work. This priest, Lopalco Francesco by real name, was a Passionist spiritual director of Mother Teresa Maria and, from 1946, of Maria Valtorta. He was not, frankly speaking, a supporter of the seer.

The opportune time for publication arrived, however, with much apprehension and prudence, in 1956. Nothing happened, neither in 1957 for the second volume, nor in 1958 for the third volume and the year of Pius XII's death. Everything changed in December 1959: the pope protector of the work having died, the Holy Office took its revenge by placing it on the Index. It lasted six years, the length of its abolition. As for the readership, its enthusiasm waned little before picking up again because it is the nature of the sheep to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd (John 10:27) and no one can separate them from it.

Some aspects of the life of Luigina Sinapi[edit | edit source]

On May 22, 2009, after a five-year investigation, the Vicariate of Rome (Diocesan Chancellery of Rome, the pope's diocese) submitted her "Positio" (= the final report) to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to initiate her beatification cause. On January 27, 2025, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints declared her "Venerable".

Relations with Saint Padre Pio[edit | edit source]

Luigina (Luigia) Sinapi was born in Itri between Rome and Naples, on September 8, 1916, feast of the Nativity of Mary. Very young, she was familiar with playing with the Child Jesus and the Angels whom she called upon to help people in difficulty. Intrigued by these gifts, her mother took her, in the mid-1920s, to Padre Pio who blessed Luigina and declared that God was manifesting in her. To those who would be surprised that Heaven could manifest so early in life, Jesus had replied, regarding the childhood of the Virgin Mary, by the examples of young saints such as Imelda Lambertini, Rose of Viterbo, Nellie Organ, or Nennolina (see EMV 7.7). From this encounter, Luigina maintained a close relationship with Padre Pio, receiving his advice and spiritual support throughout her life. She visited him several times in San Giovanni Rotondo. One can thus assume that the saint was informed of the conflicts with the Holy Office especially since he appeared several times to Maria Valtorta, of whom he recommended the writings.

Relations with the Blessed Timoteo Giaccardo[edit | edit source]

Blessed Timoteo Giaccardo, spiritual director of Luigina Sinapi

Luigina’s adolescence did not contradict this life close to God and the Virgin Mary. In November 1931, her mother died. Thus began Luigina’s "Via Crucis"[17]. The following year, at 16 years old, Luigina entered the young congregation of the Daughters of Saint Paul, whose mission is evangelization through the media. Her spiritual director was the Vicar General of the order, Father Timoteo Giaccardo (beatified in 1989). But she could not remain because of her delicate health[18]. On Christmas Eve 1932, Don Giaccardo asked her: "For the love of Jesus, will you offer yourself as a victim for the salvation of Souls?" Luigina said yes. Don Giaccardo then concluded: "Go, my child, your vocation lies elsewhere."

Luigina and Maria Valtorta had the illumination of their victim soul vocation almost at the same age (15 fully reached)[19]. They were both Franciscan tertiaries[20]. They both took their spiritual references from Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

Shortly after her offering, Luigina felt an atrocious pain in her pelvis[2]. It was a tumor. She remained bedridden, in her home in Itri, for two years, praying, offering herself, and continuing to care for her siblings after the disappearance of her mother, as she was the eldest. On August 15, 1935, solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, the parish priest administered the Last Rites. Luigina then saw Jesus and Mary who asked her: "Do you want to come immediately with us to Heaven or remain on earth and offer yourself again as a victim for the Church and for the priests?" In an instant, Luigina saw the consequences of apostasy and defections that would come in the years ahead. She accepted the second proposal, offering herself as a victim to God. Jesus then said to her:
"As an ordinary person, you will live sheltered from the eyes of the world. You will be little understood, you will suffer much and you will die alone like me[21]. You will be, as your name indicates[22], the mustard seed in a furrow of Rome. You will experience the extraordinary in the ordinary. I will entrust you to my Mother: she will guide and comfort you. Do not be afraid."
She indeed had a very ordinary life and experienced the extraordinary illuminated by the many messages she received from the Virgin Mary:
"I want you to be my lamp in the night to dispel so much Darkness that the devil sows in these times, especially against the Church; be a light for the bitterness of the Pope, for the deviations of consecrated persons, for the threats against the youth through the press, entertainment, secret sects and celebrations devoted to removing the purity of Christians[23]."
This warning about the time of trial and Purification of the Church is a constant of the 20th century: in a vision of 1884, Leo XIII saw the 20th century granted to Satan to test the world and try to destroy the Church[24]. This calls to mind the message from Heaven, December 23, 1948[25], which Maria Valtorta delivered to the Holy Father warning him notably that Hell was advancing and urging him not to falter in defending the Work given to Maria Valtorta. It also recalls the later declaration of Pope Paul VI of June 29, 1972 about "the smoke of Satan" rising from among the people of God.

Relations with Venerable Pius XII[edit | edit source]

Virgin of the Revelation (Tre Fontane, Rome)
The event that assured Luigina’s privileged place with Pius XII took place in April 1937 at the Abbey of Tre Fontane, supposed site of the beheading of Saint Paul in Rome. She was about to be 21 years old. She was walking there with a group of young girls from her parish whom she had brought on a Pilgrimage. It was then a rather unattractive place. Luigina buried what seemed to be the remains of an aborted child. The Virgin then appeared to her and entrusted to her:
"Exactly in ten years, I will return to this place. I will use a man who today persecutes the Church and wants to kill the Pope... Now go to Saint Peter’s Square, you will find a lady dressed like this... and you will ask her to lead you to her cardinal brother. You will bring him my message. From this place, I will establish the throne of my glory in Rome... You will also tell the Cardinal that he will be the future Pope."
She therefore went to Saint Peter's Square where she noticed the described person. It was Elisabetta, one of the two sisters of Cardinal Pacelli[26], future Pius XII, who was then a close collaborator of Pius XI and led his Secretariat, the most important Vatican Dicastery. In this year 1937, he had written for Pius XI, in connection with the Archbishop of Munich, the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge which denounced Nazism.

The encounter took place and the prophecies were fulfilled: first the election of Pius XII two years later, in March 1939, then the apparitions of Tre Fontane in April 1947, almost exactly ten years later, to Bruno Cornacchiola who converted and went to tell the Pope whom he had previously wanted to assassinate. But Pius XII had already confided to Father Ricardo Lombardi, a Jesuit, that he already knew everything.

Maria Valtorta speaks of this apparition in her notes of December 28 and 31, 1947. They are interesting to reread because they describe the machismo reigning then among some and led to seers being treated as "hysterical" but gave immediate credibility to male visionaries. This partly confirms and sheds light on the violent reactions that befell Luigina.

These notes are also interesting to reread for this prophecy (p. 466): "Science will deny God"[3]". She fought against this, but we know it is the science of the Work which today comes to the aid of the eternal Gospel.

Having become Pope, Pius XII continued to regularly converse with Luigina, either by telephone or audience. She reports that one day, arriving covered with bruises from blows received from Satan, he gave her a relic of the Cross telling her to always carry it for Protection Against such attacks. She would need it and it proved effective in the facts reported by Maria Valtorta according to Mr. Corsanego then Ferri.

For now, the Holy Year of 1950 had arrived and Luigina confirmed, on behalf of Heaven, the promulgation of the Dogma of the Assumption about which Pius XII was questioning. Maria Valtorta had also received such a message from Heaven in 1947[27], the year of the apparitions of Tre Fontane, and this wish from Heaven ended with this enigmatic message: "If what I say is heard through the means of the Work, you will communicate these other words to whom you know."

Relations with Venerable Enrico Medi[edit | edit source]

From 1956 to 1970, she worked at the National Institute of Geophysics as secretary to Venerable Enrico Medi, an Italian physicist and politician (1911-1974). This scientist, author of numerous works, was a deputy of the Italian Christian Democracy and vice-president of Euratom, the European Atomic Energy Community founded in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome.

Notes and references[edit | edit source]

External resources

Explanatory notes and references
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Letters to Mother Teresa Maria, volume 2, April 1950 (page number unspecified) p. 294-295.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Decree of January 27, 2025 under the name Luigia instead of Luigina. The decree states: "She had a strong spiritual bond with Saint Pio of Pietrelcina and enjoyed the trust of the venerable Servant of God Pius XII (Ebbe un forte legame spirituale con San Pio da Pietrelcina e godette la fiducia del Venerabile Servo di Dio Pio XII)."
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Emilio Biagini, Maria Valtorta. La testimone della vita di Cristo, CEV 2019, page 98, note n° 19.
  4. ↑ By private correspondence, in response to a question we asked him.
  5. ↑ Luigina herself used pseudonyms, as she wished to remain unnoticed. She published, in 1951, the "Via Crucis dell’Amabilità" under the pseudonym "Monialis". Then, in 1954, she registered under the pseudonym "Sister Eugenia" (in reference to Pope Eugenio Pacelli) when registering as a tertiary of the Servites of Mary, a trait she shared with Maria Valtorta who, like her, had previously been a Tertiary of St. Francis (La Serva di Dio Luigina Sinapi {it}, Rosalia Azzaro Pulvirenti, pages 12 and 27).
  6. ↑ The Anticamera pontificia can be defined as the administration responsible for the activity of the Holy Father.
  7. ↑ Body of lawyers authorized to plead before the Vatican courts for all kinds of causes, including beatification causes.
  8. ↑ These are the visions of the life of Jesus published later under the title The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me.
  9. ↑ The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints notes in its decree that she lived "Her existential journey was accompanied by numerous supernatural gifts such as precognition of events and situations, bilocation, the Discernment of the Spirit, and above all the mystical union with the Lord Jesus, lived in an atmosphere of modesty, humility, and service."
  10. ↑ The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in its decree, confirms that she "enjoyed the trust of the venerable servant of God Pius XII (godette la fiducia del Venerabile Servo di Dio Pio XII)" and was "close to him (fu vicina al Venerabile Servo di Dio Pio XII)".
  11. ↑ The Dicastery, in its decree, mentions "supernatural manifestations that have dotted her life (manifestazioni soprannaturali che costellarono la sua vita)."
  12. ↑ "La picchiarono" in the original text. Picchiare implies physical violence = to maltreat, beat, strike, etc.
  13. ↑ Literally: allora tentarono farle violenza carnale.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Letters to Mother Teresa Maria, volume 2, undated letter, p. 299-300.
  15. ↑ The Notebooks, June 6, 1950.
  16. ↑ Mgr Federico Callori di Vignale (1890-1971). He was later private secretary of John XXIII and made cardinal by Paul VI.
  17. ↑ Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross, here designates the mystical path which, in imitation of Christ and in His wake, spiritually and physically unites the Soul to the sacrifice of the Cross.
  18. ↑ This is one of many points in common with Maria Valtorta who also wanted, in 1927 at 30 years old, to enter the Company of Saint Paul, but had to give it up because of her health (Autobiography, p. 317-320).
  19. ↑ Autobiography, p. 148.
  20. ↑ As explained by the Maria Valtorta Heritage Foundation website, she was first a Franciscan tertiary before becoming a tertiary of the Servites of Mary. Very young, she had a particular affection for St. Francis of Assisi (Autobiography, p. 253) but only became a Franciscan tertiary from November 6, 1929 (postulant) and November 23, 1930 (received habit) as she notes in her mystical calendar.
  21. ↑ Indeed, she died alone on April 17, 1978. According to her doctor, Dr. Marco Grassi, her final days were accompanied by great suffering which she bore patiently, only saying: "I wait!" She was found dead, face turned towards the tabernacle of the chapel she had arranged in her Rome apartment, 51 Via Urbino. Her funeral took place in the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemme), the very place where relics of the Passion are kept (La Serva di Dio Luigina Sinapi {it}, Rosalia Azzaro Pulvirenti, page 42).
  22. ↑ Mustard in Italian is senape (plural senapi).
  23. ↑ Santi e beati {it}, Serva di Dio Luigina Sinapi Seer, With Pio XII and Padre Pio.
  24. ↑ The October 13, 1884, Leo XIII witnesses a dialogue between God and Satan. The devil boasts of destroying the Church through an increase of time and power. God grants him one hundred years.
  25. ↑ The Notebooks, December 23, 1948.
  26. ↑ The siblings were Giuseppina, Francesco, (Eugenio) and Elisabetta, the youngest. The family came from pontifical nobility. Eugenio was the only one to have a religious vocation.
  27. ↑ The Notebooks from 1945 to 1950, dictated October 23, 1947.

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Action of a person (called an "apostate") who renounces their Religion and faith, who publicly abandons their Religion (to adopt another or not). It thus announces their choice to religious representatives.

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