Gemma Galgani: A Child of the Passion

The life of Saint Gemma Galgani, the Italian mystic and stigmatic who died in 1903. She has been called a "Daughter of the Passion" because of her profound imitation of the Passion of Christ. This title has been out of print and hard to find since its original publication in 1911 and is now available in this paperback format.

Here's an excerpt:

A pious lady in the city, Signora Cecilia Giannini, who was in the habit of attending early Mass, saw Gemma in church and was much struck by her modest and recollected demeanor. She watched her for some days, and then one morning she stopped her as she was leaving the church, and entered into conversation with her. They walked on together, and when they came to the house where the lady resided, she invited Gemma to enter. She had now a better opportunity of observing the singular modesty and goodness of the girl, and the thought at once occurred to her: Why cannot we have this angel in our house. Here, indeed, are already eleven children, but one more will not matter. She had no sooner formed this idea than she thought of putting it into execution.