LORETO, Italy, SEPT. 5, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II summarized the life of newly beatified Pina Suriano with the phrase, «I do nothing other than to live for Jesus.»
The young Sicilian (1915-1950) had to give up the dream of her life — religious consecration — because of her family’s opposition and practical problems. She then gave her life to God as a lay member of Catholic Action.
«She spoke to Jesus with the heart of a spouse,» the Pope said today in the homily at the beatification Mass. He added these words of Suriano: «Jesus, make me ever more yours. Jesus, I want to live and die with you and for you.»
«As a girl she was a member of the Feminine Youth of Catholic Action, of which she was later a parish leader, finding in the association important stimulus for human and cultural growth in an intense climate of fraternal friendship,» the Holy Father said.
«She matured gradually a simple and firm will to give her young life to God as an offering of love, in particular for the sanctification and perseverance of priests,» John Paul II concluded.
Suriano, known among her friends for her beauty, made a vow of chastity on April 29, 1932, in the Chapel of the Daughters of Mercy and of the Cross, social headquarters of Feminine Youth of Catholic Action.
On May 30, 1948, together with three friends, she offered herself as a victim for the holiness of priests.
Just over a year later, she developed a form of rheumatoid arthritis that frequently forced her to stay in bed, unable to move. She died of a heart attack on May 19, 1950, at 35.
