All Religious Medals are Customizable. We can change the spelling, your language, names etc, ex:
change "Pray for Us"
to "Pray For Me". Just let us know in "special instructions"
if you would like it for a charm bracelet, request a split ring instead of a bail in the "special
instructions"
She was born Anna Maria Gallo, the daughter of Francesco Gallo and Barbara Basinsin, in the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish
Quarter) of Naples, a red-light district of the city, still known for its high crime. According to tradition, another
saint, the Jesuit, Francis de Geronimo, predicted her future sanctity while she was still an infant. Her family was of
the middle class, but her father, a weaver of gold lace, was a very violent man, who regularly abused his family
physically, often severely.
When Gallo was sixteen, her father attempted to force her into a marriage with a young man of means who was seeking her
hand. She refused and asked to join the Franciscan Third Order, through which she could live out a religious life in the
family home. The friars of Naples were part of the reform of St. Peter of Alcantara, and they and the tertiares under
their rule were known for the strictness of their lives. Through the intervention of a friar, Father Theophilus,
permission to enter the Order was eventually granted by her father.
Gallo was received into the Order on 8 September 1731 and began wearing the religious habit of the Order, which was an
uncommon practice by that era. She also adopted the use of the religious name she took upon being received into the
Order, out of her devotion to the Blessed Mother, St. Francis of Assisi and the Passion of Christ. She continued to live
in the family home to serve God as a consecrated virgin, as was customary in those days.
She took as her spiritual director, the Franciscan friar, John Joseph of the Cross, while her confessor was the
Barnabite priest, Francis Xavier Bianchi, and she began to be known among her neighbors for her work of charity, helping
the poor of the sector. She was a person of deep prayer, often spending long hours in meditation.
In 1753 she joined with another Franciscan tertiary, known only as Maria Felice, and they moved into a small palace
owned by a priest, Giovanni Pessiri, who became their spiritual director. The two women occupied the second floor,
sleeping on the floor, and the priest the floor above. She is said to have received the wounds of the stigmata while
living there and suffered patiently many physical afflictions and spiritual trials.She would wear gloves to cover the
marks on her hands, while she did her work. She is also said to have had apparitions of Saint Raphael the Archangel, who
healed her of several afflictions.
Item can be engraved with message, names, dates or monogram.
Engraving doesn't delay your shipment.
Available in Yellow Gold Plated &14K Yellow or White Gold, or Sterling Silver
Is a Chain Included? You can choose which chain to add to your order when checking out
Pendant Bail - fits up to 4mm chain. We can make bail larger, just let us know in the special instructions upon ordering
All Sterling Silver is protected with a tarnish resistance to help it last for years without tarnishing.