*BLESSED VILLANA De'BOTTI* *Patroness of Married Couples & Dominican Tertiaries* *February 28* _*Villana is originally a Sankrit female name which means *Dedicated*_ Blessed Villana de' Botti was born in the year 1332 in Florence, Italy to a mechant Andrea de'Botti. She was an Italian Catholic professed member of the Third Order of St Dominic. She turned to the Dominicans after a sudden conversion from a dissolute life and was noted for her simplistic life born out of her conversion. Villana was a pious and devoted child who ran from home in 1345 in order to join a religious order at their convent. But the order she approached refused her and she was forced to return home to face the anger of her father. Her father then decided to counter all possible future attempts to join a convent and chose to arrange his daughter's marriage to Rosso di Piero Benintendi in July 1351. The rejection from the order she went to and her marriage changed the once-pious de' Botti to adopted a life of laziness and extravagance. One day as she dressed in a gowns of pearls and precious stones and prepared for an entertainment event she saw her reflection in the mirrors around her take the shape of demons as a reflection of her sin-laden soul. She tore those clothes off in favor of something simple and wept as she fled to Santa Maria Novella and begged the priests of the Order of Preachers for their help while also making her confession. The converted soul became a member of the Third Order of St Dominic and began to concentrate on her married life while spending her time reading Sacred Scripture as she was fond of the Epistles of Paul and reading hagiographical accounts of saints. Her austerities as a sign of penance and her begging door to door concerned her husband and parents who had to stop her. She also experienced religious ecstasies at the celebration of Mass but became the object of slander and ridicule, her detractors however realized in due course that she was a living saint. After her journey in this life, she died in 1361 at the age of just 28 wearing the habit of the Dominicans and on her deathbed she asked that the Passion be read out to her. She died when the words *"He bowed His head and gave up the Ghost"* were read out. Her remains were taken to Santa Maria Novella but the priests were unable to inter her for a month due to the constant crowd of mourners. Her bereaved husband often said that when he felt discouraged or depressed he would go to the room that his late wife died in for solace. Shortly after de' Botti's death, she became the object of a strong local devotion, which prompted the author of her first biography, a descendant, to prematurely call her a beata. On 27th March, 1824 Pope Leo XII granted his approval for her beatification. *_Life indeed is timeless and definitely not a race_* _Roncalli_