May Feast Day for Blessed Miriam Teresa – our Jersey girl on her way to sainthood (Video)

May 8 marks the Feast Day of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, SC, a Bayonne native who passed away in 1927 and was declared Blessed in 2014.

Blessed Miriam has been recognized as a unifying force between the Eastern and Western Churches and a reminder that all individuals are called to pursue holiness.

Blessed Miriam was born in 1901 into an immigrant family belonging to the Byzantine-Ruthenian rite of the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed just five days after her birth and grew up immersed in the rich liturgies and traditions of the Eastern Church. At the age of 12, she received Holy Communion at Saint John the Baptist Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church in Bayonne. Later, when her family moved, Miriam continued to attend daily Mass at St. Vincent’s Roman Catholic Church in Bayonne, where her faith continued to flourish.

A portrait of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich is displayed in the sanctuary during her beatification Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., Oct. 4, 2013. Blessed Miriam Teresa, a Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth who died at age 26 in 1927, is the first candidate for sainthood to be beatified in the U.S. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Despite her desire to become a Carmelite sister and pursue a contemplative religious life, the Carmelites could not accept her due to her poor eyesight. The embroidery of vestments was a crucial aspect of the Carmelite sisters’ duties, and it required good vision. Ironically, the miracle attached to her is the recovery of a young boy’s eyesight after praying for her intervention.

After completing her education at the College of Saint Elizabeth (presently known as Saint Elizabeth University) in Convent Station, she joined the Sisters of Charity.

Sister Miriam had some profound religious experiences upon entering the convent. First, she was asked by her spiritual mentor to compose talks on spiritual growth, which were shared with other new members. These talks were subsequently published under the title “Greater Perfection.”

Additionally, the Blessed Mother appeared to her when she was a college student, and the “Little Flower” appeared to walk with her when she was a novice, Miriam told her advisors.

“From the early age of three, she had an understanding of the Holy Trinity,” said Sister Mary Canavan, vice postulator of the Blessed Miriam League of Prayer with the sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station. “It seemed she spent her life in the presence of the Holy Trinity.”

Before being able to make her final vows, Sister Miriam encountered health problems. She was operated on at St. Joseph’s in Paterson for tonsilitis. After not recovering, she was sent to St. Elizbeth’s Hospital, where it was discovered she needed surgery for appendicitis. Her priest and confessor, Father Benedict Bradley, received her vows while she was on her deathbed at the age of 26.

After her death, her family and friends, recognizing her holiness, began to pray to her and received many favors in response, according to Sister Canavan.

The Diocese of Paterson initiated the canonization process for a potential saint in the Catholic Church in 1945. In order to be recognized as a saint, a miracle must be attributed to prayers for the intercession of the holy person. This miracle should be spontaneous, irreversible, and occur without medical treatment following prayer for the designated individual’s intercession.

In 1963, after prayers to Sister Miriam by the family, faculty, and students at Saint Anastasia School in Teaneck, a 9-year-old boy was instantly cured of bilateral macular degeneration. This is a disease of the eyes that was declared medically incurable.

Michael Menser holds a reliquary containing a lock of hair of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich prior to her beatification Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., Oct. 4. The Congregation for Saints’ Causes determined last year that Menser was miraculously cured of an eye disease at a young age through the intercession of Blessed Miriam Teresa, a Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth who died at age 26 in 1927. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Pope Francis accepted the findings of a lengthy investigation in December 2013, which included this miracle, leading to the declaration of Blessed Miriam Teresa on Oct. 4, 2014. The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark hosted a celebratory ceremony, marking the first beatification ceremony in the United States. This event was celebrated by both the Roman Catholics and the Byzantine Catholic Churches.

Another miracle is needed through the intercession of Blessed Miriam for canonization. Readers who know of such an occurrence are asked to notify The Blessed Miriam Teresa League of Prayer at P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, N.J. 07961 or 973-290-5315.

There is a shrine for Blessed Miriam Teresa in the Motherhouse Chapel of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station. Visitors are welcome by appointment. To find out more and to download a prayer card visit www.scnj.org/blessed-miriam-teresa.

Featured image: Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, a Sister of Charity who died at age 26 in 1927, was the first American to be beatified in the United States. (CNS photo/courtesy of Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth)