Carlotta was born in ca. 680 A. D. in a small Italian city. Even though at the dawn of the ear known as The Middle Ages, women could have very little effect on the social, political and religious issues in society, St. Carlotta managed to make her contribution to religion and shape people’s ideas of what a true Christian should be. With the help of St. Carlotta, the Catholic Church could face the numerous challenges that appeared at the time.
Born to a family of a carpenter and a housewife, Carlotta was always considered a very pious child. When Carlotta was six, she had a vision of St. Mary. According to the existing records, she did not know at first what woman talked to her in her dream; but, after going to church and seeing the image of St. Mary, she told her mother that this was the woman from her dream.
It is worth mentioning that St. Carlotta is often mentioned as a martyr. When she was fifteen, two stigmata opened on the palms of her hands; she had been bearing the stigmata since then till the day when she died.
In addition, St. Carlotta also contributed to building a nunnery in the town where she was born. Helping raise the funds to create the nunnery and giving all that she could give, St. Carlotta succeeded in building a rather humble yet charitable nunnery, which is nowadays known as the Nunnery of St. Carlotta.
It is hard to overestimate St. Carlotta’s contribution to charity. She always tried to provide the poor and those in need with everything that she could offer. According to what the chronicles of the V Century say, she once saw a woman in ragged clothes and with no shoes on her way to the church. St. Carlotta took her shoes off, gave it to the woman and proceeded to the church barefoot.
However, charity is not the only thing to remember about St. Carlotta. Legends say that people witnessed her doing miracles. As one of the legends says, one of the neighborhood boys was at the death’s store because of the disease the symptoms of which can be interpreted nowadays as acute pneumonia.
After hearing about the child and his disease, St. Carlotta came to the house of the boy’s parents to save the child. She stood for a while in front of the boy who was lying in bed and then said, “In three days, you will be cured.” Three days after, the parents realized that the boy was perfectly healthy.
St. Carlotta was also aware of Evil and never lost the chance to remind people that they should beware the threats and withstand the temptations that the world had to offer. She disapproved of those who deceitfully used the passions of others for their own benefit and spread lies about the others. Known for her purity, she yet never offered her own behavior as a model, believing that she was a mere sinner. St. Carlotta died ca. 730 A. D.
A woman who definitely left an impact in the lives of the Medieval Italian people, St. Carlotta will remain the symbol of purity and the guardian of the people who seek help and need advice. St. Carlotta’s impact on the Medieval Catholic Church, as well as on people’s perception of religion, cannot be denied. Even though the destiny that the Providence meted out for St. Carlotta had a lot of challenges, choice moments and pain, she managed to face the latter decently and will remain one of the most influential female saints of all.