Ubaldesca Taccini

Ubaldesca Taccini was born in 1136 in Calcinaia, in the Republic of Pisa, to a modest family. From her earliest years she was drawn to works of mercy, caring for the poor and tending the sick with a quiet, steadfast compassion. Around the age of sixteen she left for Pisa and entered the hospitaller Order of Saint John, dedicating her life to prayer and service. For fifty-five years she lived in humility within the community and in the city’s hospital, where she patiently nursed the injured and comforted those who suffered, making charity her daily rule. Her holiness was remembered not only for her tireless care but also for miracles attributed to her intercession, especially the tradition that water from a well at the Church of the Santo Sepolcro in Pisa was changed into wine. Venerated as one of Pisa’s beloved saints, she is also honored as the patron saint of Calcinaia, where her relics are kept. Saint Ubaldesca died in Pisa in 1206. Her feast day is May 28.