Elisa, Servant of God

ISNELLO, Sicily, Italy.

On June 17-18, the remains of Elisa Giambelluca

were moved to the Church of St. Nicholas of Bari,
Isnello, a village North of Sicily, where she was born.
The "Amici di Elisa" association, of the diocese of
Cefalu, and the Teresian Association carry forward
the process of canonization of Elisa Giambelluca, a
member of the Teresian Association. She was a
professor of mathematics and physics at the
University of Palermo, Director of Istituto Magistrale S. Pio X in Rossano, and an active
collaborator in the diocese.

Isnello, the village

Isnello is a town in Northern Sicily, near the sea, and it seems attached to a mountain. Its
houses are located along the slope and the church is in the center. Elisa Giambelluca was
born there seventy-five years ago and there, at forty-five, she was buried in July 1986.

In June 2016, Isnello received many people who wanted to accompany the transfer of the
remains of Elisa to the Church of St. Nicholas of Bari, where she was baptized and where she
received her first communion. To celebrate this event, a large poster with her picture was
placed on the Church door.

Her neighbors, "friends of Elisa Giambelluca," members of the Teresian Association, alumni
and friends from Italy and Spain met on June 17th to participate in a vigil entitled "With Elisa
... invitati alle nozze of Re!" during which, using passages from the Song of Songs and
sentences from her journal,  we remembered her life.
Servant of God
The celebration took place in the afternoon of June 18th when priests
moved the coffin of cypress wood, closed with a sealed with a white
ribbon, from the nearby church of St. Michael to the parish of St.
Nicholas of Bari, where they placed it before the main altar. The church
was completely full of people who welcomed the body of Elisa with a
loud applause.

 After a few moments of prayer accompanied by songs, the remains of

Elisa were moved from the altar to a small side chapel under the
beautiful statue of Our Lady in white marble.  On the front of her tomb,
also white, one could read "Servant of God, Elisa Giambelluca." While
the wooden casket was moved and placed in a zinc coffin, songs in
Italian and Spanish were sung since a group from Spain was there. That was exciting: Elisa,
our contemporary, took another step in a process that will end when the Church presents her
as a model for everyone.

After reading and signing the protocol texts attesting to the event that was taking place, the
Bishop of Cefalu (diocese to which Isnello belongs) Vincenzo Manzella, celebrated the
Eucharist, which had been prepared by young people. Encarnita Gonzalez, who had played a
key role as postulator of the cause, was there also.  In his homily, the Bishop highlighted the
simple qualities of Elisa, stressing that her life was not characterized by doing extraordinary
things but by doing extraordinarily well everything she did.

A happy family
After the Eucharist, thanks to Encarnita González, we met and talked with Elisa's sisters, her
nephews and other family members; all were very happy. Some have received favors
attributed to Elisa, whom they always feel very close. This kind of closeness is one of the
favors that some people who come to her in their needs often mention. This is not strange
because, according to the testimonies given by many people, that was one of her
characteristics: Elisa was not a protagonist, she was never in the front row, but she was
always there when someone needed something to try to solve their problems, or at least she
accompanied them.

A Marian shrine
The group from Spain visited the shrine of Our Lady of Gibilmanna where a white marble
statue is venerated and, like her neighbors, Elisa used to visit frequently. Elisa knew that her
vocation was accepted at this sanctuary when she was on pilgrimage with other university
students from Palermo when she was studying mathematics.

This group also visited Cefalu, with its bright blue sea, the city of Enna, Piazza Armerina and
the great mosaics of the Roman Villa of Casale, Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta with its
majestic Doric Greek temples; Erice and other beautiful places.  Probably Elisa had visited all
of these places.

Palermo, an icon of God the Merciful

In Palermo, Elisa spent her College years at the University Residence of Piazza Pretoria. On
one side of the square, the center of which is a majestic fountain, we saw the outside of the
Residence, now abandoned. In it, Elisa met the Teresian Association and decided to join it, in
May 1964.

Probably she visited the Palatine Chapel many times, where she would encounter the
majestic look of mercy of Christ Pantocrator, made by Byzantine artists with many small
golden mosaics of so many colors.

In Palermo she finished her studies. And from there she went to Rossano where she spent
three years and then three more in Turin; then she went to Rome, Poggio Mirteto, and back
again to Rossano, Vescovio ...; several cities,  work, and disease until July 5, 1986  whn she
went into the hands of God in Rome.

Maria Tusa and Rosa Scaturro accompanied us to the Baroque chapel of Solitude, a small
space entrusted to the Teresian Association by the government of Spain, presided over by an
image of Our Lady of Sorrows dressed in a Spanish style and adorned with a painting of
Pedro Poveda with the spires of the Basilica of Covadonga in the background.

They, who lived with Elisa in the Residence of Palermo, shared with us some of their
experiences and memories. Elisa was a very simple person, not showy at all; we could say
that invisible until her assistance was needed; at that time she was always present, there was
no need to call her, she was there. She was also characterized by her humility, austerity, her
ability to appreciate everything beautiful and good around her.

Some testimonies collected in the Positio highlight these features of Elisa and narrate small
favors in which she manifests herself.

Perhaps this time is the right time to live our baptismal and Teresian vocation with
radicalness, which she lived, witnessing to the joy of the Gospel as we educate young people
and work with others. Our Elisa Giambelluca, Servant of God, awaits us.
We thank Encarnita Gonzalez for her hard work, her wisdom and her efforts to to make known
the figure of Elisa.

Pilar Pazos