Vigil Lecture for Vigil lecture for St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

‘Awakening to God’s Love: Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi on the Mystical Dimension of Every Christian Life.’

Saturday 25th May 2024 @ 4pm – (London, UK)

Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi (1566-1607) has not always been best served by her biographers who at times have overemphasised the extraordinary spiritual occurrences in her life, documented by her community, and also such eccentric behaviour as running through the halls of her convent at night, ringing the bells, and proclaiming that God was not loved.  This is only part of the story of a Carmelite woman who from a young age felt inwardly drawn by God more than ‘a magnet draws iron.’  Attracted to enter the Carmel at Florence because of the daily practice of receiving Holy Communion, Mary Magdalene found constant spiritual nourishment in the liturgical life of her community.  Known among her sisters as ‘mother of charity’ on account of her kindness and practical wisdom, she was entrusted with the care of novices.  Mary Magdalene’s life was marked by the Cross but her experiences of suffering helped her to guide and inspire others.   Above all, she awakens us to God’s love and the need to respond in kind.

Meet Our Speaker

Fr Simon Nolan, O. Carm. was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He entered the Carmelite Order in 1992 and is currently Prior of the Carmelite Church and Priory at Whitefriar Street in the centre of Dublin city. He holds a doctoral degree in philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a master’s degree in spirituality, and is a diploma graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Fr Nolan is Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at St Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth, a board member of the Institutum Carmelitanum in Rome, and a Scholar at the Center for Carmelite Studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. As well as writing on philosophy, Carmelite spirituality, and music, he gives talks and retreats, and has given organ recitals in Ireland and the United States.