1. The canonical norms concerning the procedure to be followed in the Causes of Saints are stated in the Apostolic Constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister promulgated by John Paul II on 25 January 1983 (AAS LXXV, 1983, 349-355).

2. To initiate a Cause it is necessary that at least five years pass after the death of the candidate. This is to allow for greater balance and objectivity in the evaluation of the case and to allow the emotions of the moment to decant. There must be a clear conviction among people about his/her sanctity (fama sanctitas) and about the efficacy of his/her intercession with the Lord (fama signorum).

 Video sui coniugi Amendolagine

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Lelia Cossidente was born in Potenza on the 4^th of May, 1893.

She followed the family who moved to Rome in 1904. In 1913 she obtained her normal license, taught in an elementary school in the San Lorenzo district, worked as a cashier in a bank and finally, for ten years, was employed in the library of the State Magisterium of Rome. She was a member of the Sacred Heart Parish which she attended assiduously, as well as the "Caterina Volpicelli" Institute, where she spent her free time in the embroidery and sewing workshop.

On 29^th of September 1930, she married Ulisse Amendolagine in the Parish of Saint Teresa. She then became part of the confraternity of the Holy Scapular (Our Lady of Mt Carmel).

Open with a love for life, they become parents of five children, for whom all their attention went into education and formation, especially religious. For this reason they would choose Catholic schools and collaborate, through a continuous dialogue with teachers, in the moral, spiritual and human growth of their children. Teachers and professors, male and female religious, were also be a valid help for their Christian maturity, as well as for the management of the family. They followed their children at school (Brothers of the Christian Schools, Marist Brothers, Sisters of St. Frances Cabrini and St. Angela Merici) and in their free time (at the Discalced Carmelite Fathers of the Parish of St. Teresa), taking part in their activities in continuous dialogue with educators, for whom they always showed great trust and respect.

The war put a strain on the whole family: bombings, the escape from Rome as displaced persons to a village in Abruzzo (Cappadocia), retirement from office during the German occupation, seeking refuge and hiding in the Roman Major Seminary, the fear of German roundups and retaliation, but above all the lack of the necessities to survive, did not discourage the two spouses who doubled their trust in Divine Providence. Prayer became effective and sometimes a miraculous support in the greatest of difficulties.

In addition to the Eucharist, for which a very special attention was nourished, family life took place under the loving gaze of Mary, who was daily invoked, so that she would «cover with her mantle» the parents and children. There was no shortage of other devotions that, going beyond simple prayer, were presented as examples to imitate (St. Joseph, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. John Bosco, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Jude Thaddeus ...). Illnesses, the daily bread of every family, were accepted not with resignation, but with serenity, always certain of the benevolent hand of God who guides every event for our good.

Lelia, accompanied by the heart felt pain for the whole family, climbed Calvary quickly. Almost two years of atrocious suffering, from a tumour of the mesentery, she died on July 3^rd, 1951. In the last days we heard her constantly murmuring the last part of the Hail Mary: «Now and at the hour of our death.»

The Diocesan Inquiry into her «Life, Virtue and Reputation for Holiness» was opened on 18^th of June 2004 and closed on 24^th of May 2011 in the Diocese of Rome.

1. The canonical norms concerning the procedure to be followed in the Causes of Saints are stated in the Apostolic Constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister promulgated by John Paul II on 25 January 1983 (AAS LXXV, 1983, 349-355).

2. To initiate a Cause it is necessary that at least five years pass after the death of the candidate. This is to allow for greater balance and objectivity in the evaluation of the case and to allow the emotions of the moment to decant. There must be a clear conviction among people about his/her sanctity (fama sanctitas) and about the efficacy of his/her intercession with the Lord (fama signorum).

PLEASE NOTE

1) In order to be able to consult the Positio please fill in the request form on this page.

2) If your request is accepted, we will then send you the conditions and directions for consulting the document.

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Kunegunda Siwiec was born in Siwcowka, diocese of Krakow, in 1876, the ninth of ten children of the Siwiec family. She was called  by all by the diminutive of Kundusia.

She breathed in the serenity of the landscape and her family, whose father, even in old age, went out to the pasture whistling and singing, and in the evening he was enchanted admiring the nuances of the sunset, while sitting in front of the house. Kundusia learned to read and to sign by participating, in the winter months, in a kind of «evening school», in which her teachers were the most educated inhabitants in the village.  On the other hand, she grew up determined, strong-willed and deeply religious, with a boyfriend, whom she cared about a lot and with whom she was already making marriage plans.

The turning point of her life came in 1896, while taking part in a popular mission preached by a Redemptorist priest: Kundusia, with her 20 years and marriage in sight, suddenly discovered her vocation: «to live in the world, but only for Christ». She thus reorganized her life around this ideal, giving absolute priority to spiritual things. She began by enrolling in the Apostolate of Prayer, then attended a catechesis course preparing the highland girls for marriage and children for first communion. Finally she joined the Carmelite Third Order. In the village they observed her gradual metamorphosis, from a girl «like every other» to one more and more «of Jesus»: they did not know, but they could guess that behind all this there was a great intimacy with paradise, arising and supported by long hours of «heart to heart» prayer with Jesus.

In 1929 she offered the land that would have been her inheritance to build an "educational centre": a regular school, in short, the one she was never able to attend, run by qualified nuns, who moreover took care of the education of children and adults. Attached to the Centre a chapel was also built and it was only from that year, therefore, that Kundusia had the joy and opportunity of attending daily Mass. The Eucharist gave wings to her spirituality and increased her intimacy with Jesus. It is not known exactly when, but, particularly after communion, she began to have «interior locutions». Kundusia revealed this to her confessor only in 1942, with some embarrassment, admitting that this had been happening for some time. This gradually led her to mature the decision to offer her life in reparation for the sins of the world and to grow in her a complete self-giving, in union with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

To Kundusia began to flow simple and cultured people, priests and religious for advice, spiritual help, and encouragement to good: everyone received from this illiterate woman what they needed. Entering her house they would find her engaged with her brothers in reading mystical works, which she commented on with a depth and competence that amazed even the best of theologians. Her complete union with Jesus reached its climax with the joyful acceptance of suffering: in 1948 she was struck by a bone tumour with widespread metastases, bringing unspeakable suffering hidden behind her usual smiling and playful attitude. Everything was offered in reparation for the sins of the world, all lived in union with the sacrifice of the cross.

Despite excruciating pain, she died peacefully on June 27, 1955. 

The Diocesan Inquiry into her "Life, Virtue and Fame for Holiness" was opened on 21^st of December 2007 and closed on 28^th of October 2011 at the Archdiocese of Krakow. The decree of validity was granted on March 1^st, 2013.

1. The canonical norms concerning the procedure to be followed in the Causes of Saints are stated in the Apostolic Constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister promulgated by John Paul II on 25 January 1983 (AAS LXXV, 1983, 349-355).

2. To initiate a Cause it is necessary that at least five years pass after the death of the candidate. This is to allow for greater balance and objectivity in the evaluation of the case and to allow the emotions of the moment to decant. There must be a clear conviction among people about his/her sanctity (fama sanctitas) and about the efficacy of his/her intercession with the Lord (fama signorum).