Maria Pierina De Micheli

[1] She had been aware from an early age of the Holy Face of Jesus devotion, which had been started almost a century earlier by a French Discalced Carmelite, Mary of Saint Peter, of Tours, France.

On the first Friday in Lent 1936 she reported a vision of Christ in which he appeared to her and said: "I will that my face, which reflects the intimate pains of my spirit, the suffering and the love of my heart, be more honored.

On one side the medal bears a replica of the Holy Shroud of Turin and an inscription based on Psalm 66:2: "Illumina, Domine, vultum tuum super nos", i.e. "May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us".

She was beatified on Sunday 30 May 2010 at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Roman Curia.

[4] Although he was not present for the beatification Mass, Pope Benedict XVI noted her "extraordinary devotion" to the Holy Face of Christ at the Angelus audience the following Sunday.