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Maria Valtorta

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This article is about Maria Valtorta's life. For her major literary work, please see the article on
The Poem of the Man God.

Maria Valtorta at age 5, 1902.

Maria Valtorta (14 March 1897 – †12 October 1961) was an Italian writer and poet, considered
by many to be a mystic. Her work centers on Catholic Christian themes. Her followers believe
that she had personally conversed with Jesus Christ in her visions of Jesus and Mary[1].

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Early life
• 2 Settling in Viareggio
• 3 Visions
• 4 Notebooks
• 5 Two Popes, two opinions
 • 6 Controversy
• 7 Death and burial
• 8 Mentions by other mystics
• 9 Imprimatur
• 10 References

• 11 Sources and external links

[edit] Early life

At age 15, 1912.

Valtorta was born in Caserta, in the Campania region of Italy, the only child of parents from the
Lombardy region. Her father, Giseppe was in the Italian cavalry and her mother, Iside, was a
French teacher[2].

At age 7 she was enrolled in the Institute of the Marcellienne Sisters, and at age 12 she was sent
to boarding school. As the family moved around Italy due to her father's military career, she
received a classic education in various parts of Italy, and focused on Italian literature. In 1917
she entered the ranks of the Samaritan Nurses, and for eighteen months offered her service at the
military hospital in Florence.

On March 17, 1920, at the age of 23, while she was walking on a street with her mother, a
delinquent youth struck her in the back with an iron bar for no apparent reason. She was confined
to bed for three months. Although she seemed to have recovered after three months, and was able
to move around for over a decade thereafter, the complications from that injury eventually
confined her to bed for 28 years, from 1934 onwards.
[edit] Settling in Viareggio

At age 21, in the uniform of a Samaritan Nurse, 1918.

In 1924, her father retired and the family settled in the town of Viareggio, on the coast of
Tuscany in 1924[3]. After settling in Viareggio (which means "way of the kings"), she hardly
ever left that town. In Viareggio Maria led a life dominated by solitude. Except for occasional
excursions to the seaside and the pine-forest, her days mostly consisted of doing the daily
household shopping and visiting the Church for the Blessed Sacrament.

In 1925 she read the autobiography of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus at one sitting. The
experience was deeply moving to her and on January 28th 1925 she offered herself as victim to
the merciful Love. In December 1929, she was admitted to Catholic Action as youth cultural
delegate, and in 1930 took private vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.

January 4th 1933 was the last day on which Maria, walking with extraordinary fatigue, was able
to leave her house. And from the 1st of April 1934, she was no longer able to leave her bed. In
1935, a year after she was bed-ridden, Martha Diciotti began to care for her.

In 1942 she was visited by a missionary priest, Fr. Rornuald M. Migliorini of the Servants of
Mary, who became her spiritual director for four years. In 1943 her mother died and Martha
Diciotti became her only constant companion and listener until her death. Except for a brief
wartime evacuation to Sant’ Andrea di Compito in Lucca, from April to December 1944 during
the Second World War, the rest of her life was spent in her bed at 257 Via Antonio Fratti in
Viareggio.
[edit] Visions

At age 25, 1922.

Early in 1943, when Maria had been infirm for nine years, her religious advisor, Father
Migliorini, suggested to her to write about her life. After some hesitation, she agreed and, in
about two months had produced several hundred handwritten pages for her confessor.

On the morning of Good Friday April 23rd 1943, she reported a sudden voice speaking to her
and asking her to write. From her bedroom Maria called for Marta Diciotti, showed her the sheet
in her hands and said that something extraordinary had happened. Marta called Father Migliorini
regarding the dictation Maria had reported and he arrived soon thereafter. Father Migliorini
asked her to write down anything else she received and over time provided her with notebooks to
write in.

Thereafter, Maria wrote almost every day until 1947 and intermittently in the following years
until 1951. She would write with a fountain pen in the notebook resting on her knees and placed
upon the writing board she had made herself. She did not prepare outlines, did not even know
what she would write from one day to another, and did not reread to correct. At times she would
call Marta to read back to her what she had written[4].

One of Maria's declarations reads:

"I can affirm that I have had no human source to be able to know what I write, and what,
even while writing, I often do not understand."
Her notebooks were dated each day, but her writing was not in sequence, in that some of the last
chapters of The Poem of the Man God were written before the early chapters, yet the text flows
smoothly between them[5].

[edit] Notebooks

Main article: Poem of the Man God

From 1943 to 1951 Valtorta produced over 15,000 handwritten pages in 122 notebooks. She
wrote her autobiography in 7 aditional notebooks. These pages became the basis of her major
work, The Poem of the Man God, and constitute about two thirds of her literary work. The
visions give a detailed account of the life of Jesus from his birth to the Passion with more
elaboration than the Gospels provide. For instance, while the Gospel includes a few sentences
about the wedding at Cana, the text includes a few pages and narrates the words spoken among
the people present. The visions also describe the many journeys of Jesus throughout the Holy
Land, and his conversations with people such as the apostles.[6].

The handwritten pages were characterized by the fact that they included no overwrites,
corrections or revisions and seemed somewhat like dictations. The fact that she often suffered
from heart and lung ailments during the period of the visions made the natural flow of the text
even more unusual. Readers are often struck by the fact that the sentences attributed to Jesus in
the visions have a distinct and recognizable tone and style that is distinct from the rest of the text.
Given that she never left Italy and was bed-ridden much of her life, Maria’s writings reflect a
surprising knowledge of the Holy Land. A geologist, Vittorio Tredici, stated that her detailed
knowledge of the topographic, geological and mineralogical aspects of Palestine seems
unexplainable. And a biblical archeologist, Father Dreyfus, noted that her work includes the
names of several small towns which are absent from the Old and New Testaments and are only
known to a few experts.[7] [8][9]

[edit] Two Popes, two opinions

Maria Valtorta was at first reluctant to have her notebooks published, but based on the advice of
her priest, in 1947 she agreed to their publication. Her priest, Father Romualdo Migliorini and
Father Corrado Berti, along with their Prior Father Andrea Checchin used their contacts to
bypass the Vatican hierarchy to present the manuscript directly to Pope Pius XII. Among those
impressed by the work at the Vatican was the Pope's confessor, Msgr. (later Cardinal) Augustin
Bea who later wrote that he found the work "not only interesting and pleasing, but truly
edifying". The manuscript was thus delivered to Pius XII and the three priests were granted a
papal audience.

At the meeting Pope Pius XII reportedly told the three priests; "Publish this work as it is. There
is no need to give an opinion about its origin, whether it be extraordinary or not. Who reads it,
will understand. One hears of many visions and revelations. I will not say they are all authentic;
but there are some of which it could be said that they are"[10]. Father Berti then signed an
affidavit to that effect, as did the other two witnesses, with written testimony. The three priests
understood this permission to publish as a Papal Imprimatur (Imprimatur being Latin for "let it
be printed"). The papal audience was documented the next day in the Vatican's newspaper
L'Osservatore Romano.

The Poem of the Man God was hence offered to the Vatican Printing Office for publication in
1948, because Pope Pius XII had agreed to its publication before the three Priests of the Servite
Order. While Pius XII was alive, the Holy Office did not announce an official position on the
manuscript. When Pius XII died in 1958, upon taking office, his newly appointed successor Pope
John XXIII signed a decision by the Holy Office (then headed by Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani) to
place the book on the Index of Forbidden Books in 1959, along with a number of other works,
such as those of Sister Faustina Kowalska who was later declared a saint, and whose writings are
now quoted by the Vatican.

[edit] Controversy

Supporters of Maria Valtorta argue that, according to Canon Law the Roman Pontiff has full
power over the whole Church, hence the initial approval given by Pope Pius XII effectively
nullified any subsequent ruling by the Holy Office. The detractors argue that the same Canon
Law applied to Pope John XXIII when he signed the order to place the work on the Index.
However, in 1963 Pope Paul VI succeeded John XXIII and abolished the Index altogether in
1965. Valtorta followers argue that this in effect nullified the suppression of 1959 since the Index
no longer existed after 1965. Those opposed to the book considered the abolition of the Index as
not reversing the Church’s opinion of the work. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict
XVI) while acting as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1985 wrote that
"the Index retains its moral force despite its dissolution." [11] Valtorta supporters point to the fact
that the long list of books on the Forbidden Index also included writings by Jean Paul Sartre,
Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, Rene Descartes, Francis Bacon, John Milton,
John Lock, Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal and Saint Faustina Kowalska, among others. But some
authors (e.g. Charles Darwin) whose views are highly unacceptable to the Church were never put
on the Index. [12][13][14]

At the moment the official position of the Catholic Church with respect to the book is less than
clear. The church does not endorse the book, yet does not ban it either, although church officials
have made occasional comments about it. The last formal action taken by the Vatican with
respect to the book was in 1992, when Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, the Secretary General of the
Italian Bishops' Conference, wrote to the publisher Emilio Pisani. In his letter, Tettamanzi
requested that a paragraph be added to the first few pages of the book disclaiming any
supernatural origin for the work. The publisher assumes that the letter indicates that the Italian
Bishops' Conference sees nothing in the work that contradicts the doctrines of the Church, yet
some detractors claim that the letter intended to classify the work as fiction. Since 1993 the
Catholic Church has chosen to remain silent on its position with respect to the work.

The Poem of the Man God was eventually published as a 4,000 page multi-volume book and has
since been translated into 10 languages and received the imprimatur and approval of several
Catholic bishops and Cardinals worldwide. Valtorta's other literary works include historical
notes on the early Christian church and martyrs and comments on biblical texts, as well as some
religious poems and compositions.

The Poem of the Man God has, however, also drawn criticism from a variety of theologians and
skeptics, who claim internal inconsistencies[15], friction with the Holy See[16] and theological
errors of the Biblical account of the Gospel and Catholic dogma.[17]

Regarding the issue of internal consistency and correspondence with the Gospels, Valtorta
supporters point to the fact that ever since Saint Augustine of Hippo addressed the Augustinian
hypothesis in the 5th Century, religious scholars have been debating issues regarding the
comparison of various texts with the Gospels, at times with no clear resolution. Such debates still
take place among experts even on issues regarding the Church Canons and the early Gospels
themselves.[18][19] Valtorta supporters point to the fact that the Poem of the Man God seems to
provide solutions to some synoptic debates such as those regarding Luke 22:66[20] and Matthew
26:57[21] on the Trial of Jesus by providing simple explanations that resolve the conflicts.[22]
And highly respected scripture scholars such as the Venerable Gabriele Allegra have expressed
their support for the Poem of the Man God and its correspondence with the Gospel.[23]

As for friction with and within the Holy See, it is well documented that the Cardinals favorable
towarrds Valtorta's writings (e.g. Cardinal Augustin Bea) and those opposing it (e.g. Cardinal
Alfredo Ottaviani) had high levels of friction with each other on a wide range of issues beyond
Valtorta's work.[24] Thus in defense of Maria Valtorta, when providing his imprimatur for the
Poem of the Man God, Bishop Roman Danylak recalled John 8:7[25] and referred to some of her
critics as "those who want to cast stones"[26].

[edit] Death and burial

Maria Valtorta in Viareggio.

Maria Valtorta died and was buried in Viareggio in 1961, at age 65. In 1973 with ecclesiastic
permission, her remains were moved to Florence to the Chapel in the Grand Cloister of the
Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze. Chiseled on her tomb are the words:
"DIVINARUM RERUM SCRIPTRIX" (Writer of Divine Things).

Presiding over the services at Valtorta’s "privileged burial" and the relocation of her remains
from Viareggio to the Santissima Annunziata Basilica was Father Gabriel M. Roschini[27]. A
respected Mariologist, founding professor at the Marianum pontifical institute in Rome and
advisor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Father Roschini had studied Valtorta's
writings and her book The Poem of the Man God and was initially skeptical of the authenticity of
her work. But upon studying her work further he grew to appreciate it as a private revelation. He
wrote of Valtorta's work:

"We find ourselves facing an effect (her work) which seems to be beyond its cause (Maria
Valtorta)"[28].

The house at 257 Via Antonio Fratti in Viareggio, where all her messages were written, was
purchased by the publisher of The Poem of the Man God and has been preserved intact. It can be
visited by appointment in Viareggio, Italy.

[edit] Mentions by other mystics

In the 1980s, she was mentioned in the visions of two of the visionaries in Medjugorje. The
Medjugorje visions by Marija Pavlovic and Vicka Ivankovic both stated that Maria Valtorta’s
records of her conversations with Jesus are truthful. According to Ivankovic, in 1981 the Virgin
Mary told her at Medjugorje: "If a person wants to know Jesus he should read Maria
Valtorta".[29][30][31][32][33] According to printed records of Medjugorje messages, Marija
Pavlovic stated that she was told at Medjugorje by the Virgin Mary that it was permitted to read
Maria Valtorta's book.[34][35]

Maria Valtorta's work is also mentioned in Don Ottavio's Michelini writings. He is a relatively
obscure priest from Mirandola, who reported a series of Dictations and Visions given to him by
Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary from 1975 to 1979. He reported these words dictated to him by
Christ:

I have dictated to Maria Valtorta, a victim soul, a marvelous work. Of this work I am the Author. You
yourself, Son, have taken account of the raging reactions of Satan.... You have verified the resistance that
many priests oppose to this work. This also proves, Son, that he who has not sensed in the Poem the savor
of the Divine, the perfume of the Supernatural, has a soul encumbered and darkened. If it were -- I do not
say "read" --but studied and meditated, it would bring an immense good to souls. This work is a
well-spring of serious and solid culture.... This is a work willed by Wisdom and Divine Providence for the
new times. It is a spring of living and pure water. It is I, the Word living and eternal, Who have given
Myself anew as nourishment to the souls that I love. I, Myself, am the Light, and the Light cannot be
confused with, and still less blend Itself with, the darkness. Where I am found, the darkness is dissolved
to make room for the Light.
The particular Michelini book from which this quotation was taken is called La medida está
colmada in its Spanish version and remains in the library of The Archidiocesan Minor Seminary
of Monterrey in the city of San Pedro Garza García. It is worth noting that the first page of the
book has a seal that reads "Biblioteca Seminario Menor de Monterrey Donativo del Sr. Emmo.
Adolfo Antonio Cardenal Suárez Rivera", ("Library of the Minor Seminary of Monterrey
Donated by Sr. Eminentísimo Adolfo Cardinal Suárez Rivera"). He was for many years Cardinal
Archbishop of the Diocese of Monterrey. This Spanish edition of Michelini's writings where
supposedly Christ himself defends Valtorta's Work , comes with a copy of two letters between
Bishops (within the first pages). The first letter is from the Bishop of León, México Anselmo
Zarza Bernal and is addressed to Bishop Miguel García Franco at the time Bishop of Mazatlan.
The response to Bishop Zarza is the second letter. In the first letter, Bishop Zarza recommends to
Bishop García Franco the reading and reflection of Michelini's book (where among many
supposed dictations from Christ, there is one defending Valtorta's work), on response (second
letter) Bishop García wrote: "I received your letter...that came with the book" (Michelini's Book)
"...I find all the doctrine contained in the book 100% orthodox, more yet, in whole coincident
with the writings of Mrs. Conchita Cabrera de Armida..." (the Venerable Concepción Cabrera de
Armida a Mexican mystic in the process of canonization) “... and with the book of Father
Esteban Gobbi (In Italian Stefano Gobbi), books for which we have ecclesiastic aprobation".

[edit] Imprimatur

Over the years, support for Valtorta's work grew among the mid-levels of the Vatican. Her work
has received the imprimature of Bishop Roman Danylak and Archbishop Soosa Pakiam[36][37]
[38]
. But the official position of the Holy See with respect to the book is currently less than clear.
Since 1993 the Vatican has decided to remain silent on the work[39].

Yet, support for her work continues to appear from unlikely corners of the Vatican, usually from
biblical experts who are not at the Holy Office. One such expert was the respected scripture
scholar the Venerable Gabriele Allegra, who spent 40 years translating the Bible to Chinese.
Allegra wrote:

"I hold that the work of Valtorta demands a supernatural origin. I think that it is the
product of one or more charisma and that it should be studied in the light of the doctrine
of charisma."[40][41]

Another expert was the respected Mariologist, Fr. Gabriel M. Roschini, professor at the
Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Rome, advisor to the Holy Office and founder of the
Marianum (which is both the name of the pontifical school and the prestigious journal of Marian
theology[42]) who wrote of Valtorta:

"I must candidly admit that the Mariology found in Maria Valtorta's writings, whether
published or not, has been for me a real discovery. No other Marian writing, not even the
sum total of all the writings I have read and studied were able to give me as clear, as
lively, as complete, as luminous, or as fascinating an image, both simple and sublime, of
Mary, God's masterpiece."[43]
Father Roschini presided over the relocation of the remains of Maria Valtorta from Viareggio to
the Santissima Annunziata Basilica in Florence in 1973.

[edit] References

1. ^ Imprimatur for the Writings of Maria Valtorta http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/

Imprmatur.htm
2. ^ The Life of Maria Valtorta http://valtorta.alphalink.com.au/personwork.htm
3. ^ Overview of Valtorta's Life http://www.valtorta.org/about_the_author_defaultpage.asp
4. ^ Maria Valtorta's Writings http://www.mariavaltorta.com/?op=view_news&type=news&id=42
5. ^ Introduction to Valtorta http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Valepic.htm
6. ^ Poem of the Man God Excerpts http://www.valtorta.org/the_poem__selected_excerpts.asp
7. ^ Tredici Quote on Valtorta http://heartofjesus.ca/MariaValtorta/M%20A%20R%20I%20A.htm
8. ^ Introduction to Valtorta http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Valepic.htm
9. ^ Pende Quotes on Valtorta http://heartofjesus.ca/MariaValtorta/M%20A%20R%20I%20A.htm
10. ^ Verbal Papal Authorization http://heartofjesus.ca/MariaValtorta/
M%20A%20R%20I%20A.htm
11. ^ ETWN http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/poem_of_the_man.htm
12. ^ Modern History Sourcebook: Index Librorum Prohibitorum
13. ^ James Christian, 2005, Philosophy, Thomson Wadsworth, ISBN 053451250X
14. ^ Vatican opens up secrets of Index of Forbidden Books.
15. ^ Poem Of The Man-God by Fr. John Loughnan http://jloughnan.tripod.com/valtmedj.htm
16. ^ Poem of the Man-God by EWTN http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/
poem_of_the_man.htm
17. ^ La Reporta Valtorta by Fr. Brian Wilson, L.C. http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/
4.4/question.htm
18. ^ Bart D. Ehrman, 2004, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian
Writings Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195154622
19. ^ Lee McDonald, 2002, The Canon Debate Hendrikson Publishers ISBN 1565635175
20. ^ Bible Gateway, Luke 22:66 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/
?search=luke%2022:66&version=31
21. ^ Bible Gateway Matthew 26:57 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/
?search=matthew%2026:57;&version=31
22. ^ Valtorta on Luke 22:66 http://www.valtorta.org/synoptic_puzzle_solved_defaultpage.asp
23. ^ Analysis of Valtorta's Writing http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Gablegra/Allegra1.htm
24. ^ Time Magazine article http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829504-1,00.html
25. ^ Bible gateway, John 8:7 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/
?book_id=50&chapter=8&verse=7&version=31&context=verse
26. ^ In defense of Valtorta http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Imprmatur.htm
27. ^ Publisher’s Notice in the Second Italian Edition (1986), reprinted in English Edition, Gabriel
Roschini, O.S.M. (1989). The Virgin Mary in the Writings of Maria Valtorta (English Edition).
Kolbe's Publication Inc. ISBN 2-920285-08-4
28. ^ Gabriel Roschini, O.S.M. (1989). The Virgin Mary in the Writings of Maria Valtorta (English
Edition). Kolbe's Publication Inc. ISBN 2-920285-08-4, page 7.
 29. ^ http://www.semperficatholic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?start=60&t=1547
30. ^ Valtorta Publishing
31. ^ 002_Correspondence
32. ^ Valepic
33. ^ Queen of Peace Newsletter (Pittsburgh Center for Peace, P.O. Box 1218, Coraopolis, PA
15108): 1988, vol. 1, no. 2.
34. ^ "Words from heaven: Messages of Our Lady from Medjugorje: a documented record of the
messages and their meanings" page 145. Saint James Publishing, 1990: ISBN 1878909053
35. ^ Valtorta Medjugorje confirmation http://www.MariaValtortaWebRing.com/Pages/
014_1988.htm
36. ^ Bishop Danylak's Imprimatur http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Imprmatur.htm
37. ^ Archbishop Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum http://mariavaltortawebring.com/Pages/
001_Correspondence.htm
38. ^ Heart of Jesus http://heartofjesus.ca/MariaValtorta/M%20A%20R%20I%20A.htm
39. ^ Church letter Regarding Valtorta http://www.heandi.qc.ca/mariavaltorta.net/
church_approval.htm
40. ^ Gabriele Allegra on Valtorta http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Gablegra/Allegra4.htm
41. ^ Gabriele Allegra on the Poem of the Man God http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Gablegra/
Allegra1.htm
42. ^ Mariology http://msa62.tripod.com/id8.html
43. ^ Gabriel Roschini, O.S.M. (1989). The Virgin Mary in the Writings of Maria Valtorta (English
Edition). Kolbe's Publication Inc. ISBN 8879870866

[edit] Sources and external links

• Maria Valtorta official webite

• Bishop Roman Danylak's imprimatur
• Bishop Danylak's Comments on Maria Valtorta
• The Venerable Gabriele Allegra on Maria Valtorta
• Valtorta Publishing
• The Maria Valtorta Network
• The Maria Valtorta Reader’s Group in Australia
• About 20% of Valtorta's writings (in several languages) online
• The Maria Valtorta Web-Ring
• Valtorta Medjugorje confirmation
• Father Mitch Pacwa's critical view
• Response to Fr. Mitch Pacwa

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Valtorta"

Categories: 1897 births | 1961 deaths | Visions of Jesus and Mary

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