PAULA MALATESTA, WIDOW
Paula Malatesta, widow of Francis Gonzaga, first Marquis of Mantua, took the veil at the monastery of Corporis Christi in Mantua, which she had founded.
Even while her husband was still alive, she visited the hospitals three times a week, attended to the sick, bandaged their wounds and gave them spiritual and bodily alms. At public processions she showed such great devotion that all those who attended were edified; often she took part with no shoes on, just on her bare feet.
As a widow, having become a nun, she left a reputation for a holy life. Paula died in 1449, having decreed that her body should be buried in front of the church door, so that those entering could walk over it, and that the priests might be reminded to commemorate her soul at the altar. The Bollandists* mention this holy lady among the Praetermissi. (II. 507 and Seraph. Mart.)
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875)
*A hagiography source used by the authors
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
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