[As stated previously on this website, Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen of the Two Sicilies, was the spouse of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (Grand Master of the Constantinian Order from 1830 to 1859) and the mother of King Francis II of the Two Sicilies (Grand Master of the Constantinian Order from 1859 to 1894).]
On Sunday 28 January 2024, the Delegation of Western Sicily of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, together with the Cultural Conference Maria Cristina di Savoia of Ravanusa, founded in 1993 by Don Angelo Lana, conducted a pilgrimage to the mother church of the city of Ravanusa in the province of Agrigento, to venerate the sacred relic “ex ossibus” of the Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy.
The pilgrimage, promoted by the Western Sicily Delegation chaired by the Delegate, Nob. Prof. Salvatore Bordonali, Knight Grand Cross of Justice, began in the room adjacent to the S. Lauricella Museum in Ravanusa. The Constantinian Knights and Dames led by the Representative for the cities of Caltanissetta and Agrigento, Prof. Alberto Maira, Knight of Merit with Star, and the Cristines led by the President, Prof. Lilla Aronica, were welcomed by the parish priest of the mother church in San Giacomo, Don Filippo Barbera, delegated by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Agrigento, the Most Rev. Alessandro Damiano, to represent him during the pilgrimage.
After exchanging greetings, a museum visit took place, with the description of the archaeological finds, curated by Prof. Francesco Di Natali, historian and president of the SiciliAntica Association of Ravanusa.
The participants then reached the mother church for the pilgrimage, where the Constantinian Knights and Dames, led by the Master of Ceremonies Giuseppe Caci, Knight of Office, attended Holy Mass on the 188th anniversary of the death of the Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, officiated by the Parish Priest Don Filippo Barbera.
In the afternoon, there was a visit to the convent church of the Order of Minor Conventual Friars of Ravanusa, custodians of valuable and historic works of art, and then to admire the adjacent villa dedicated to Maria Cristina of Savoy.
Maria Cristina was born on 14 November 1812 in Cagliari – youngest daughter of the King of Sardinia, Vittorio Emanuele I, and of the Archduchess Maria Teresa of Habsburg-Este. The Savoy court of her parents was in exile, Piedmont having become part of the French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Her mother the Queen immediately consecrated her to the Most Holy Mary; a consecration which was then renewed by Maria Cristina herself, as soon as she was able to understand the concept. She received a solid Christian education from her pious parents.
In 1815 the four sisters, Maria Beatrice, the twins Marianna and Maria Teresa and Maria Cristina reached Turin together with their mother, where the King had returned a year earlier, after the Restoration. The princesses grew up at court in a very religious environment, guided by the Queen and her father confessor, the Olivetan Giovan Battista Terzi. Maria Cristina, like her sisters, was educated in a culture befitting a princess, combined with a profound spirituality.
She was nine years old when his father had to renounce the throne in favour of his brother Carlo Felice and, after a period of exile in Nice, he settled with the whole family in Moncalieri, where he died after three years, in 1824.
Maria Cristina participated together with her mother and sister Marianna in the opening rites of the Jubilee of 1825 in Rome. The paternal benevolence of Pope Leo XII, the solemnity of the sacred functions, the visits to the churches, monasteries and catacombs increased the intensity of Maria Cristina’s faith.
Upon her return, after a brief stop in Modena, she settled with her mother and sister Maria Anna, who would become Empress of Austria, at Palazzo Tursi in Genoa, reducing her activities to lessons and running the house. When she was twenty her mother also died. She left Genoa, alone and heartbroken, by order of King Carlo Alberto, who invited her to reach Turin.
To support and comfort her in such a succession of deaths and separations, together with the misunderstandings she found herself in at court, which made her suffer very much, all she had left was her firm and strong faith; so strong, that she would have liked to become a cloistered nun. But King Carlo Alberto, Queen Maria Teresa of Tuscany and the Court entourage tried to dissuade her, reminding her of the reasons of state. Finally, Father Terzi made all her resistance fall: he knew in fact that her uncle Carlo Alberto wanted a marriage for her that could strengthen the weak subalpine state (whose limited military strength had just been highlighted by the French invasion) with a marriage that linked the family to a powerful dynasty. And Ferdinand II of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies, descendant of one of the most prestigious families in Europe and heir to the most important throne in Italy, seemed (and in fact was) an excellent match. Therefore, Maria Cristina accepted the request for marriage and the reason of state as the will of God: “I still don’t understand how I could end up, with my character, changing my mind and saying yes; the matter cannot be explained otherwise than by recognizing the will of God, for whom nothing is impossible.”
Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy became the first wife of the King of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II of Bourbon, with her marriage (although arranged, it was a happy one, because she was able to make herself deeply loved by her husband and her new family) which by her wish was celebrated on 21 November 1832, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary to whom she was devoted, in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Acquasanta, at Veltri, near Genoa, officiated by Cardinal Giuseppe Morozzo della Rocca, of the Marquises of Brianzè, Archbishop-Bishop of Novara . On 26 November 1832, the newlyweds embarked for Naples, where they arrived on the 30th. Under torrential rain, they were welcomed by a cheering and enthusiastic crowd.
The faith of Maria Cristina, the “Queen in love with Jesus”, defined by the Neapolitans as the “Holy Queen”, was so strong that at the point of death she heartened those who cried for her and pronounced with the little breath left: “I believe in God, I love God, I hope in God.”
She was one of the first to launch a new concept of charity, working to offer the needy the opportunity for a better life. In the most abandoned neighbourhoods of Naples she opened furniture and knitwear factories, and introduced the production of clothes and fabrics into the silk mills of Caserta, giving work and redemption to many people.
Beautiful, gentle and cultured – “charmante et parfaite”, as the Count of Cavour described her – at ease with ambassadors and sovereigns, bearer of a reformist and, at times, openly liberal political vision: these are the characteristics of Maria Cristina, who in the short span of her life was able to carve out a profile of great depth, despite her extreme reserve.
Maria Christina began her reign alongside the twenty-two-year-old Ferdinand, who had already reigned for three years. She was a woman of uncommon intelligence, cultured and expert in disciplines such as physics and the classification of precious stones. She did not deal with the government of the state, but her brief period as Queen (1833-36) was excellent. She did not think of reforming the State, but her beneficial Christian action inevitably had an effect on her husband, who courageously opposed the Risorgimento and liberal ideas. Regarding the Court ministers she said: “Ferdinand be careful, because these men make the people your enemies; therefore, before listening to them, recommend yourself to the Madonna.” “Cristina educated me”, Ferdinand II used to say, accustomed to the use of sometimes indecent expressions, and she became his precious advisor, transforming into his “Angel”, as he himself called her.
The Queen managed to establish a relationship of profound mutual respect with her husband and to be at his side not only in marital life, but also in political and social life, albeit in a discreet way.
Alongside this “indirect role”, the Queen’s real force stands out in the management of public assistance and charity, in the promotion of state patronage, in the creation of projects relating to the custody and preservation of the architectural and cultural heritage of the Kingdom . Even from the point of view of diplomatic relations, Maria Cristina was able to have a profound impact, giving life to a complex business network, capable of strengthening the international reputation of the Crown of the Two Sicilies.
The study of the archives allows us to outline the face of a “modern” and cosmopolitan queen; hostile to political persecution (her intercessions for the suspension of the death penalty are famous – she obtained pardon for many men condemned to death and among these even Cesare Rosaròll, who conspired to kill Ferdinand II – which led to a moratorium for those condemned). She was attentive to the issues of emancipation (especially of women), the protection of arts and antiquities, communication with the masses, assistance to the poor and state social assistance. In all respects she was a “surrogate” for very active politician.
Maria Cristina was able to transform her beauty as a tool to bring people closer and to help those most in need. A model wife and mother, her example reminds us that the vocation to holiness is for everyone. The Neapolitan people have been and are always attentive and devoted to those who do their utmost for them and know how to choose the people who deserve this trust. Maria Cristina was a great woman, the right leader of a people. Making the virtues of this blessed woman known serves as an example to those who want to help those in need.
First of all, as a wife she was a bridge between two Italian dynasties. This was a problem for her contemporaries in evaluating her cause for beatification, divided into two camps by the rhetoric of the Risorgimento. On the one hand, some considered a beatification of the woman who was the wife of the King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and the mother of his successor, Francis II, last King of the Two Sicilies, a slap in the face to the rhetoric of the Italian Risorgimento. On the other hand, some were driven by very simplistic speculations of history and often by very artfully crafted hoaxes, which for years had poured out hatred towards the Savoys. In the middle were the many believers and devotees, who were instead united to pursue the cause of beatification.
Less than twenty-four years of life and three years of reign were enough for her to leave an indelible mark on history: northern in character and habits, still venerated as a saint of the South, testifying to the profound bond between her and the people of the South, who she made her own.
Her Catholic faith was not a feeling, but a fact of life: every day she attended three Holy Masses in the morning, Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary in the afternoon; her daily readings were the Bible and the Imitation of Christ; she participated intensely in spiritual exercises; she stopped the carriage every time she encountered the Holy Viaticum on the road and knelt down even when there was mud; in the chapel she kept her gaze on the Tabernacle for a long time to better concentrate on the One who was the master of her heart. She entrusted the protection of her existence to Holy Mary and donated her wedding dress to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Toledo, where it is still preserved with veneration.
This had a great effect on her royal husband, who, if he could not follow the intense religious life of Maria Cristina, at least participated daily in the first Mass and the Rosary. In addition to the King and the Court (all family members were invited to the morning Mass and the Rosary), the subjects of the Kingdom also followed the example of the “Holy Queen:” they spoke more decorously, and the women dressed in less revealing attire.
A true queen of the poor, she knew how to take on the suffering of her people, for whose promotion she created bold social works. Charity towards the needy occupied her fully: it is said that Father Terzi had with him a trunk full of receipts from those who had received a benefit. She sent money and linen, gave shelter to the sick, a roof to the underprivileged, maintenance allowances to young people in moral danger, financially supported religious institutes and professional workshops, and took beggars off the streets.
She was responsible for the relaunch of coral processing in Torre del Greco. But the greatest work linked to her name is the “Colonia di San Leucio”, with its own legislation and statute, where families had homes, jobs, a church and a compulsory school. The production activity was based on the processing of silk which was exported throughout Europe.
These were extraordinary economic policy measures that are still waiting to be studied in an in-depth and analytical way: it was she who implemented principles that became the Social Doctrine of the Church with regard to work.
In fact, she is still responsible for the extension of social protection measures and the relaunch of manufacturing and trade in all the provinces of the Kingdom, and in particular in “rebel” Sicily, in the belief that only a renewed presence of the state and a more lenient face of the monarchy could have bridged the distance between the island and the Neapolitan capital.
After three years of being married, the lack of a child made Maria Cristina suffer a lot, and she prayed incessantly for this reason. Finally, in 1835, she realized she was expecting a child. She spent the last months of her pregnancy in the Royal Palace of Portici.
While waiting for the birth she wrote: “The King and I are the only ones who are not distressed that what everyone is longing for has not yet happened but that we leave everything in the hands of God”; to the waitress Rosa Borsarelli: “I hasten to write to you once again before this great matter to tell you to pray to God and the Madonna for me, so that they help me, and give me the grace to bring into the world a healthy and strong creature, who, as it grows will be good and over time will become holy”; to a noblewoman: “Don’t you think it’s curious that I’m going to become a mother? How I would love for you to meet that little brat!” But she had a sort of premonition: “Oh, how much better it is to be in Heaven than on this earth!” And as the birth approached, she wrote to her sister, the Duchess of Lucca: “This old woman is going to Naples to give birth and die.”
On 16 January 1836, Francis II was born, the future and last King of the Two Sicilies, who was deposed by Garibaldi. Already on the 29th Maria Cristina was dying due to complications that had arisen. Taking the long-awaited heir in her arms and handing him to the King, her husband, she said: “You will answer for it to God and the people… and when he grows up you will tell him that I die for him.”
It was January 31, 1836 and the bells rang at noon, when Maria Cristina, just over twenty-three years old and Queen for just three years, fell asleep forever, in full communion with God, in the odor of sanctity, amid the unanimous mourning of the royal family and of the Neapolitan people. Francis himself, who inherited a strong religious devotion and a very sensitive nature from his mother, would have been educated in her cult. Later, the only daughter of the Servant of God Francis II and his wife Maria Sofia of Bavaria, a little girl who was born when her parents were already in exile, was given her grandmother’s name. However, little Maria Cristina Pia only lived for a few months.
ABOVE: The reliquary containing relicts of Blessed Maria Cristina
BELOW: Oil portrait of Blessed Maria Cristina and photographs from the Mass
