Blessed Maria Teresa Casini

Blessed Maria Teresa Casini, also known as Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced, was born on 27 October 1864 in Frascati, Italy. She was the eldest daughter of Tommaso Casini, an engineer, and Melania Rayner. At the age of two days, she was baptized at the cathedral of Frascati.

Teresa's father passed away when she was around ten years old, and she and her mother went to live with her maternal grandparents. In 1875, she began her studies at the school in Rome called Santa Rufina, which was run by the Society of the Sacred Heart nuns. It was during this time that Teresa felt a strong calling to religious life, despite facing setbacks due to health problems and family opposition.

On 2 February 1885, Teresa entered the Poor Clare Sepolte Vive monastery in Rome, taking the name Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced. Unfortunately, her poor health forced her to leave the cloister on 2 December 1886. She returned to her family and devoted her time to prayer in the chapel of the Sacred Heart in the parish church of San Rocco in Frascati. Deeply concerned by the neglect the church and chapel had suffered, Sister Maria dedicated herself to restoring them.

Throughout this time, Sister Maria continued to hear an inner voice calling her to console the sufferings of the Heart of Jesus, particularly those caused by faithless or undisciplined priests. Acting on the advice of her spiritual director, she became part of a community known as the True Lovers of the Heart of Jesus. When the group's leader passed away, Sister Maria gathered several like-minded sisters and, using her inheritance, founded the Victims of the Sacred Heart on 2 February 1894 as a cloistered community. They obtained diocesan approval on 1 April 1896.

With the encouragement of their bishop, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, the Victims ultimately transitioned from a cloistered order to an active one in the early 20th century, focusing on helping priests in their parishes. They also established a school for girls in 1910. On 1 November 1916, the community changed its name to the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to better reflect their status and mission. Later, in 1925, Sister Maria began working with the Little Friends of Jesus, an organization that educated boys and supported vocations. It later expanded to offer assistance to priests with health problems.

Despite facing deteriorating health, Sister Maria's determination never wavered. Over the last decade of her life, she was paralyzed but continued to run the Sisters from her bed. She met, taught, and consoled fellow sisters, priests, and seminarians until the very end. The Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in her memory, continue their valuable work today, supporting and assisting priests and vocations in Italy, the United States, Brazil, Peru, and Guinea-Bissau.

Blessed Maria Teresa Casini died around 5 am on 3 April 1937 at the Oblate monastery on the via del Casaletto in Grottaferrata, Rome, Italy from natural causes. She was buried initially in the chapel of the Zealots of the Sacred Heart in a nearby cemetery. However, on 20 May 1965, her remains were re-interred at the Generalate of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart in Grottaferrata.

Her venerated status was recognized by Pope John Paul II on 7 July 1997, with a decree of heroic virtues. Blessed Maria Teresa Casini was beatified on 31 October 2015 by Pope Francis. The beatification recognition ceremony took place at the Piazza San Pietro at the Frascati Cathedral in Frascati, Italy, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato. The beatification miracle attributed to her involved the healing of Jacob "Jack" Ronald Sebest, a five-year-old drowning victim in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, who recovered from brain lesions and trauma between 25 and 27 June 2003.