The unbelievable life and witness of Saint Mariam Baouardy, the Arab Rose

If Saint Mariam Baouardy (1846-1878) had lived in the distant past rather than in the nineteenth century, it would be tempting to think that some of the stories told about her were fiction. Could all the supernatural events attributed to her life possibly be true? However, her story is still an inspiring one, even when told without reference to mystical phenomena.

Mariam’s parents were Catholics from Syria who settled in a village in the northern part of modern Israel. After their unexpected deaths, she and her younger brother were separated and raised in different families. When she was eight years old, she moved with her uncle and his family to Alexandria, Egypt. At the age of thirteen, her uncle arranged for her to marry a relative, following the common practice of the time. But Mariam, who wanted to give her life to Christ, cut off her hair the night before the wedding, refused to marry, and ran away. She worked as a family servant for several years to support herself.

One of her employers offered to pay her way to France if she would serve as the cook for a relative who was living there. Mariam agreed. While in France, she tried to become a nun but was repeatedly rejected. She was accepted as a novice in the Sisters of Saint Joseph for a few years, but when they decided not to admit her to the order, she transferred to a Carmelite convent. There she became a nun and took the name in religious life of Mary of Jesus Crucified, inspiring the other sisters with her obedience, humility, and devotion. She traveled to India as one of the first members of a new community and lived there for a few years. After returning to France, she was sent to Bethlehem. There she lived for several more years. While helping to build a new monastery, she fell and suffered injuries that soon led to her death.

These basic details, accompanied by the testimony of the sisters and priests who knew her and who testified to her holiness, explain why the Church canonized Mariam. But the supernatural events that occurred in her life are also facts.

Some of the facts about her childhood are hard to believe. According to Mariam, her mother gave birth to twelve sons, all of whom died as infants. Only after her parents had made a pilgrimage, traveling 140 miles by foot to and from Bethlehem, was Mariam conceived. She was, of course, named after the Blessed Mother.

Mariam’s uncle and his wife provided her with a comfortable life after she was orphaned. But little Mariam’s precocious devotion to the Eucharist and her pious decision to fast every Saturday in honor of the Blessed Mother surprised them. They probably thought marriage would settle her down. But unlike most brides, she spent the night before the wedding crying and praying. Finally, she heard a voice which told her to trust in God, and she cut off her two long braids and placed them on top of her wedding clothes as a sign of her refusal to marry.

Mariam’s uncle was furious and gave her a severe beating. Nevertheless, Mariam felt completely at peace with her decision. Persecuted by her relatives, she decided to write a letter to her brother, who lived in Nazareth, and she took the letter to a young Muslim servant whom she hoped would deliver the letter. As Mariam shared her sad predicament with him, the man ridiculed her family and tried to convince her to marry him instead and become a Muslim. When Mariam angrily refused to abandon her faith, the man attacked her. He slashed at her throat with a scimitar and left her to bleed to death in an alley.

Mariam should have died. Mariam even thought she was dying. But the only explanation she could ever offer for her miraculous survival was that a woman in blue—presumably the Blessed Mother—appeared to her and took care for her until she recovered.

Is it impossible for one woman to give birth to twelve children and have all of them die as infants? It is certainly tragic, but it is not impossible. Similarly, Mariam’s piety from a young age may be uncommon, but it is not improbable given the devotion of her parents. Some great saints, such as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, have also been spiritually precocious. Given the volatility of adolescent and young adult relationships, it is not unbelievable that a young man would become murderously angry if a teenaged girl rejected his offer of marriage, particularly in light of Muslim-Christian tensions.

But the most unbelievable part of her story—how she could have had her throat slit and survive without modern medical assistance—is the best attested fact. A French doctor examined Mariam’s scar years after the attack and affirmed that the scar was long, deep, and should have killed her. She had a raspy voice, which made sense for such an injury.

The second phase of Mariam’s life was apparently designed by God to help her grow in humility. After the attack, teenaged Mariam supported herself as a household servant. But rather than trying to create a stable, comfortable life for herself, she changed jobs when she thought her employers were treating her too well. She saw poverty and service of others as a means of following Christ. Meanwhile, she considered entering religious life and even took a private vow of virginity.

Three notable events happened during this period. First, she experienced blindness for a time, which disappeared as quickly as it had started. Second, she survived a fall which should have killed her. Third, she was falsely accused of stealing, was imprisoned, and was then released. While most of us would find these experiences anxiety-producing and humiliating, Mariam felt great peace. These events reminded her that God was always present, particularly during trials, and taught her to humbly trust in his providence.

Her most dramatic spiritual phenomena began during the third phase of her life, after she arrived in France. We can certainly sympathize with the Sisters of Saint Joseph for turning her away from their community. After all, what do you do with a novice who receives the stigmata and often goes into ecstasies when she prays?

The Carmelites of Pau seemed to have a better understanding of Mariam and her mystical experiences. During the years she was a Carmelite nun, many priests and nuns personally witnessed the wounds of Christ on her body, saw her become immobile during long periods of prayer, and heard her describe the visions she received. They also watched her undergo the terrible trials of repeated demonic possessions and exorcisms. While most of the nuns became convinced that her experiences were legitimate, others were skeptical. These experiences were clearly very painful for Mariam, but it was also exhausting for her sisters to live in an environment of constant supernatural phenomena.

It seems counterintuitive to us ordinary Catholics that God would permit those who are most devout to be possessed and require exorcism. Yet it has happened to other saints in the history of the Church, such as the saintly Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Why did God allow this specific holy woman to be possessed by the devil? One obvious reason is that, as has been the case of other saints who were pestered by demons, the experience purified Mariam of that most basic of human sins: pride. Mariam related that, in her visions, she heard both the Lord and the devil refer to her as “the little nothing.” Rather than being offended by that name, she believed it was true: in comparison to God himself, she knew that she was little and nothing, just as we all are.

Perhaps a better name for Mariam than “the little nothing” would be “the little Arab rose.” Like Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, Mariam knew the pain of family loss, lived a life of purity, wholeheartedly served God in little ways, and possessed spiritual depths that were hidden from others. It is in the lives of Mariam and Thérèse, different though they may be, that we can see our Lord smiling at the beauty of the lilies of the field, particularly those who are now in his heavenly kingdom.