Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich: Our own New Jersey Saint?

On May 8 we celebrate the Feast Day of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, SC.

Saints are important intercessors with God. Having lived virtuous lives, they now enjoy a special place in God’s presence. Saints are models for us. They show us that holiness of life is possible for all of us. By their example they teach us how to love God and neighbors in our own daily lives.

Traditionally we pray to saints asking them to intercede for us with God to obtain graces and favors which we need for soul or body. Many of those answered prayers are for favors helping us to live more healthy, holy, and fruitful lives. Occasionally these responses are to prayers requesting a real miracle – something that cannot be explained normally. Such miracles are generally considered signs that the person prayed to is indeed a saint and has special favor with God. One such person is Blessed Miriam Teresa.

Among the many opportunities that we have missed during the coronavirus pandemic is the activity to promote devotion to Blessed Miriam Teresa. She is a native of Bayonne, N.J. who died in 1927 and was declared Blessed in 2014. Blessed Miriam Teresa was a novice in the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J. who lived a very holy life from a young age and died at 26 having made her religious vows on her deathbed.

Born into a family belonging to the Byzantine-Ruthenian rite of the Catholic Church she grew up enjoying the rich liturgies of the Eastern Church and the loving and disciplined home of immigrant parents. Never forsaking her Eastern Rite heritage, she nevertheless was an active participant in the Roman Rite Church. Thus, she is a bridge between the East and the West as both practice devotion to her.

While a novice Sister Miriam Teresa was asked by her spiritual director, who recognized her as God’s chosen soul, to write a series of conferences on the spiritual life which he then shared with the other novices. These were later published and are available for sale under the title Greater Perfection.

God’s special love for Sister Miriam Teresa was manifest when the Blessed Mother appeared to her when she was a college student and also when the “Little Flower” appeared to walk with her when she was a novice. After her death her family and friends, recognizing her holiness, began to pray to her and received many favors in response.

In 1945 the Diocese of Paterson began the process that could lead to her canonization, i.e., the declaration of her as a saint in the Catholic Church. For 69 years a study was made of her life and virtues to determine her worthiness for this honor.

One of the requirements for recognition as a saint is a miracle attributed to prayers for the intercession of the holy person. Such a miracle would have to be spontaneous, irreversible, without medical treatment, and following prayer for the intercession of the designated person.

In 1963, after prayers to Sister Miriam Teresa by the family, faculty, and students of Saint Anastasia School in Teaneck, N.J. a nine year old boy was instantly cured of bilateral macular degeneration. This is a disease of the eyes that was declared medically incurable.

In December 2013 Pope Francis accepted the results of this long study and miracle and on Oct. 4, 2014 Blessed Miriam Teresa was declared Blessed at a glorious ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J. This was the first time a beatification ceremony was held in the United States. It was a joyful occasion for both the Roman Catholics and the Byzantine Catholic Churches.

There remains one more step required for canonization. Another miracle is needed through the intercession of Blessed Miriam Teresa.

Although people frequently express gratitude for favors received after prayers to Blessed Miriam Teresa these do not meet all the requirements for a miracle to be accepted by the Church. We continue to pray that, if God so wills her sanctity will be made manifest by another miracle that will meet all the requirements.

If any reader knows of such an occurrence we ask you to notify us at The Blessed Miriam Teresa League of Prayer, P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, New Jersey 07961 or by calling 973-290-5315.

If you would like to know more about the life and virtues of this holy woman you will be welcome to visit her shrine in the Motherhouse Chapel of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, in Convent Station, N.J. when the restrictions of the pandemic are over.

Written material is available: A Novena to Blessed Miriam Teresa, Greater Perfection (The conferences on the spiritual life by her,) various pamphlets and holy cards in English and Spanish. League of Prayer staff members will be available, when the pandemic is over, to visit parishes, schools, and other interested groups to speak about Blessed Miriam Teresa. Arrangements can be made by calling the League office at 973-290-5315, or by emailing mcanavan@scnj.org.

We continue to pray that if God so wills, we will have our own New Jersey saint, one who has shared our local time and space, one who can understand and respond to our needs, one who has our best interests at heart. Blessed Miriam Teresa, pray for us.

Sister Mary Canavan is the vice postulator of the Blessed Miriam League of Prayer with the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, N.J. Visit https://www.scnj.org.