Who was the queen?

The story of Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy begins on a sunny morning of November 14, 1812 but certainly does not end with her death. Because like all great characters, her glory remains over the years through the memory of those who love her, it persists over the centuries through her works, resists time through the praise of those who respect her. Because he is a figure wrapped in the charm of mystery, around which anecdotes and suppositions continue to develop. What is certain is that 17 years after his death, his remains were found intact and his hair incredibly luxuriant, so much so that it was impossible to uproot one; and when the chests that held his body were opened, a lingering scent descended on the place. What is certain is that what was most human or strange in her was imbued with the divine.

On 9 July 1859 Pope Pius IX recognized her as Venerable and since then the queen has been waiting for the "Glory of the Altars".
Her life began in an anomalous if not downright unfortunate way: the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele I and Maria Teresa d'Asburgo was born in Cagliari, far from the Turin court, as an exile during the Napoleonic era and in the palpable disappointment and mortification of those who would have wanted her male to ensure the dynastic continuity of the Savoy.

Her mother wanted the little princess to be baptized on the day of her birth as if to manifest the superstitious desire to avert the bad auspices under which Cristina was born.

In 1815 Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and forced into exile on the island of Sant'Elba.

The exiled sovereigns were thus able to return to Turin, acclaimed by a cheering and exultant crowd that for the first time saw the last born of the House of Savoy and could not fail to be struck by its grace, composure and humility. They said she was an angel.

She was one of those privileged souls, who seemed to have been born on this earth without the legacy of the first guilt, without disordered passions.

She was always submissive to the wishes of the Queen Mother and the wishes of her older sisters. The little girl thus became the object of the tenderness of the whole Royal Family but especially of her mother Maria Teresa. Cristina, however, never abused this predilection in order to indulge in childish whims and never aroused the envy of her older sisters: Maria Beatrice, and the twins Teresa and Marianna.

Maria Cristina is a character whose charisma, personality, virtues have been ignored too many times. Most hagiographic images of her have been provided showing her as a bigot, but this is not the case. Since she was a child, great gifts, a strong personality and an exciting love for earthly life emerged in her; she was simply forced to repress all this because she grew up in a difficult period for her family, marked by mourning and struggles that saw the King and the people oppose each other in the name of the Absolutistic principles one, and the Constitutional ones the other.

Princess Cristina thus breathed the air of tension that dominated the Palace and in order not to cause displeasure to her parents, she had to stifle tears and fears; however she also breathed the air of profound mysticism and developed a religiosity, a faith and a devotion that allowed her to face her difficult and troubled existence, dismayed by pain and deprivation.

On 10 January 1824, when Cristina was only nine years old, her father Vittorio Emanuele II, after having abdicated in favor of his brother Carlo Felice, passed away. For the young princess, enormously attached to her father, it was a hard blow, for days she remained closed in her room, collected in her grief, kneeling before a crucifix. Father Terzi, confessor and confidant throughout his life, relied on her religiosity by explaining to her that life and death are part of a single divine plan. In faith and charity he found the strength to overcome that moment and devoted all his savings to masses for the suffrage of his beloved father and to charitable works.

Over time, the queen, besides obedience, doctrine, goodness of mind and intelligence, showed extreme beauty and moderation.

From the slender physique, the height of one meter and seventy, the regular features, he was able to blush at a glance or the mere presence of the other sex. Her countless talents soon made her the ideal girlfriend of Europe, coveted by bachelors of every wealth. Antonio Monti argued that there was never a more desired princess.

However, it was never her who took positions on her wedding, but her uncle and king, Carlo Felice who opted for a marriage with Ferdinand II of Bourbon, and her mother the former sovereign Maria Teresa who, even if she wanted more than any other what to see Cristina married before dying, opposed and opposed by every means the marriage with the Bourbon because suffering from epilepsy. Cristina, on the other hand, wanted more than anything else to enter a convent and lead a life as a servant of God.

In 1832 his mother also died and, although stunned by pain, the future sovereign of Naples understood that she was left alone and that she was nothing more than an instrument in the hands of King Carlo Alberto, which happened to Carlo Felice. For reasons of state, he forced her to marry Ferdinand II of Bourbon and, even if at the beginning Cristina opposed this decision, she was then forced to surrender and with heroic and bitter resignation consent to the wedding. Thus ended the most intricate and longest wedding negotiation in history, which lasted about three years, ended with a simple ceremony in Genoa on November 21, 1832, whose bride showed not the slightest sign of happiness or betrayed her tormented state of soul.
For the new queen of Naples, accustomed to the cloistered life of the Savoyard castles, to the melancholy and silence of the Turin court, the encounter with the colorful and festive Naples could have been traumatic or at least uncomfortable. For Maria Cristina it was instead pleasant. His arrival was greeted by a warm people who shouted at the top of their lungs for the arrival of what for them was already the "Holy Queen". Cristina was moved by the welcome of that noisy people who, without knowing her, loved her more than the Turinese. Even the patron saint of Naples, San Gennaro seemed to appreciate the arrival of Maria Cristina; in fact, during the traditional visit to the homonymous church, the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood took place, outside the dates that the Church had established at the time. Visiting Naples Maria Cristina was struck by the sun and the sea of ​​this city but also by the narrow streets synonymous with poverty and desperation. It was then that he understood the importance of the wedding with Ferdinand. His was a mission entrusted by God, a heavenly office aimed at reviving the fortunes of that people and thus giving vent to its humanitarian nature with numerous charitable works. Therefore, La Reginella never regretted that wedding even though at first a couple never seemed worse assorted: he massive, exuberant, coarse, sometimes vulgar; she sensitive, fragile, shy, bloodless. Instead, contrary to appearances, that was a very close-knit couple, linked by deep love and esteem, it was a relationship of mutual exchange: Cristina knew how to transmit religious values ​​to Ferdinand, making his politics more tolerant and his character less rough. Ferdinando was her teacher instead
in that chaotic and worldly life. Cristina also improved Neapolitan customs; he introduced a more decent and correct custom to the court, he had many feasts abolished in order to devote the funds to charitable works. Cristina even improved relations between Ferdinand and his lustful mother M. Isabella by showing herself humble and submissive. This is why a northern woman in character and bearing was so loved by the southern people.
In those years the Queen went eleven times to the Sanctuary of Santa Filomena in Mugnano, to meet Sister Maria Luisa di Gesù in person, the nun who, in August 1833, had impressed all the ecclesiastics of the Kingdom for her mediumistic conversations with Saint Filomena. In that year the Sanctuary was the destination of many pilgrimages and shortly thereafter Gregory XVI appointed Saint Filomena patroness of the living Rosary. This is why at the end of 1834, Cristina, who had already heard about the miraculous remains of the Christian heroine, ran right to the Sanctuary of Mugnano to ask for the grace of an heir who had not yet arrived after two years of marriage. Maria Cristina arrived in Mugnano, for the first time in official form and with her consort, in April 1835. The sovereigns listened to the Mass celebrated at the Altar of the Martyr, kissed the precious blood, accepted a relic as a gift and, as it was they usually gave alms to the poor of the country. Shortly after that visit, the happy event was announced, which took place through the intercession of St. Filomena, in every corner of the Kingdom. Maria Cristina returned several times alone to the Sanctuary; on one of those occasions she was attracted by the beauty of the statue of Maria SS. delle Grazie and asked Pope Gregory XVI for the clemency to declare the feast, which occurred on 2 July, of double precept in the whole kingdom. He donated to the Sanctuary a heart of solid gold which was sold, a cope of white satin embroidered in gold which is still preserved in the treasury of the Sanctuary. When he came into the world, the prince sent a silver child of the same weight as the unborn child to the Sanctuary, arranged for the celebration of a Triduum of thanksgiving to the Saint and obtained that Filomena was added to the classic string of names in the baptismal faith.

Maria Cristina died as she had lived: stoically. His last words were: "I believe in God, I love God, I hope in God". He slowly consumed himself due to a violent puerperal fever and his last wish was to create an institute to house 50 orphans in Mugnano, close to the Sanctuary where the kings had been pardoned.

"La Santa", Cristina was already so but her premature death definitively consigned her to this fame.
Around 1847 Ferdinand II had a three-storey building built adjacent to the Sanctuary, surrounded by gardens and everything that could be used by a religious family. Construction began in 1847 to house the Sisters of Charity, to whom the School for Girls was entrusted. To respect the last wish of his deceased wife, Ferdinando had 50 orphans lodged in this institute, which took the name of Maria Cristina of Savoy. Soon, it was thought of a larger building that would also house the family of orphans, twelve nuns in charge of the care of the Sanctuary and the education of both orphans and girls of the people.

It was a good-looking building, the interior of which offered every comfort.

The ground floor was intended for free education, the upper floors for the boarding school. The Institute was inaugurated on 11 January 1853; later it also included the Magistral and Nursery Schools.
Shortly after his death, news of miracles, extraordinary healings, visions, wonders spread throughout the Kingdom. Since then, the beatification seemed imminent but, almost paradoxically, it never came for reasons of a political nature and for friction between the House of Savoy and the Holy See. However, if the Church needs miracles to declare a person "Holy", the people need much less. For the people, the sanctity and purity of the Reginella were not in question. They are still not, judging by the numerous silver hearts, and ex-votos that glisten on the walls of the Church of Santa Chiara in Naples and by the thousands of faithful who go to ask her for all kinds of graces.

Without realizing it, a little of Maria Cristina's history is engraved in the history of our country and for one hundred and fifty years an institution bearing her name has stood triumphantly full of memories. An institute that is the symbol of a life to be remembered, of a cult to be renewed.