Blessed Amata, O.P.
Dominican Virgin, Companion of St. Dominic
c. 1200 – 1270 | Feast Day: June 10 (with Blesseds Diana and Cecilia)
The Beloved
Blessed Amata was a good friend of Saint Dominic, who, according to legend, gave her the name Amata (‘beloved’). Of the three great Dominican nuns who founded the order’s female communities, Amata is the least documented, yet her name itself carries all the theology needed to understand her vocation.
Diana, Cecilia, and Amata were the first members of Saint Agnes Dominican Convent in Bologna, Italy, and all three knew Saint Dominic personally.
The Holy Trio
To understand Blessed Amata, one must place her within the constellation of the first Dominican nuns. On June 8, the Church celebrates a group of these nuns: Blesseds Diana, Amata, and Cecilia, friends of St. Dominic and among the very first Dominican nuns.
Each woman came to the Dominican vocation in her own way:
Blessed Cecilia — a Benedictine noblewoman. When Cecilia was 17, Dominic arrived to reform the community at the request of the pope. Hearing him speak of the beauty of a life entirely handed over to God, Cecilia was enthralled and threw herself at the feet of the great preacher, asking to be received into his order and becoming one of the first Dominican nuns.
Blessed Diana — Diana was fond of beautiful and expensive things until she heard the preaching of Blessed Reginald of Orleans, an early Dominican preacher. Convicted by his words on luxury and vanity, Diana gave away the beautiful things she loved and even persuaded her father to donate some of his land to the friars. Not satisfied with this, Diana soon made a vow of virginity witnessed by Dominic himself.
Blessed Amata — The identity of Blessed Amata is less certain. We know that she was dear to the heart of St. Dominic, that she received her name from him, and that she was a nun with Diana and Cecilia.
Amata the Healed
One tradition connects Blessed Amata to a remarkable miracle. Blessed Dominic made a Sign of the Cross and said, “In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to depart from her and molest her no more.” Then she began to shake and to vomit a large quantity of blood and charcoal, so much so that she seemed to be dead. Then Blessed Dominic ordered her carried outside the church into a house where she could be given care until completely recovered and gave her the name Sister Amata.
Whether this particular Amata is the same as the blessed nun is uncertain, but the tradition resonates deeply: Amata was a woman who, like so many of the Lord’s disciples, was healed by encountering the holiness of a saint, and then gave her entire life to God in gratitude.
The Name That Is Her Legacy
Where the historical record of her life grows thin, the meaning of her name becomes her message. Amata means “the beloved” — not the one who was loved because she was worthy, but the one chosen by God’s predilection.
Blessed Amata is a model for all of us who are chosen by the special love of Christ to be His beloved spouses as Dominican nuns. Our Lord chooses us with the special love of His predilection. He chooses us to leave the empty preoccupations and illusions of the world, to cling to Him, to sit at His feet and listen to His words. He does not love us or choose us for this vocation because of our own wonderfulness or merits.
Death and Veneration
Amata was a Dominican nun, assigned to Rome, and helped found the Saint Agnes Convent at Valle di Petro, Bologna, Italy. She died in 1270 of natural causes and was interred in the chapel of Saint Clare, Assisi, Italy.
The nuns in Bologna have her relics, as she was one of the nuns sent with Blessed Cecilia from San Sisto to help found the monastery in Bologna.