Magdalena Gornik

Magdalena Gornik (also Gornikova Lenčka or Alenka; July 19, 1835, Janeži, Sodražica (Austrian Empire) - February 23, 1896, Petrinci, Sodražica) was a Slovenian Roman Catholic mystic and stigmatist.

The mountain near Sodražica rises above the Ribnica valley at an altitude of 885 meters, right on the border between Dolenjska (Lower Carniola) and Notranjska. The family of Gornik have always been poorer than rich. Despite their poverty, they tried to properly maintain their spiritual shepherd and the church of Our Lady of the Snows, which rises on a hill above the village of Petrinci. The church is surrounded by a cemetery where Magdalena Gornik is buried.

Below the village of Petrinci, about a quarter of an hour's walk from the church, lies the hamlet of Janeži, which had only 13 inhabitants in 2016. There, around 1828, at the "Šmet" (family name of Gornik), the young Jožef Gornik married Ana from nearby Petrinci, who also had the surname Gornik. They had seven children:

1. Ana (born 1829)
2. Marija (born 1831)
3. Magdalena (born 1835)
4. Alojz — the master of the homestead after her father's death — was born soon after her.
5. Agnes (born 1840)
6. Apolonija (born 1843)
7. Terezija (born 1847); died of tuberculosis at age 13.

Magdalena was born on July 19, 1835 in the family house, at Janeži 4, today number 11. This house burned down and in 1881 Magdalena's brother Alojz built a new one on the same spot. The year above the doorframe also testifies to this. On the same day, she was carried to the home church of Mary the Snows to be baptized by her godfather and godmother from Petrinci: Mihael Levstek and Marjeta Košir. She was baptized by the then chaplain on Gora Matevž Ravnikar. She was given the name Marija Magdalena. Magdalena was also called Lenka, Alenčka or Lenčka, but she always signed herself as Magdalena.

Magdalena's parents were considered honest and good people. They were devout Christians and raised their children in a Christian spirit. Her mother was especially fond of Magdalena because she obeyed her at the first word, was a great help to her in the household, as well as in other farm chores. Magdalena was a lively and bright girl with blue eyes and a weak build, but with a simple and gentle nature. She loved to socialize with her peers in play, work and prayer; she often taught them Christian doctrine, which she liked to attend. She had a calming effect on the girls, was well-behaved and friendly to everyone. Whenever she had time, she devoted it to prayer or listening to spiritual conversations. She often went to church and had confidential conversations with God. But she did not show off her piety.^[1]

The Gora chaplain Jožef Žagar firmly adhered to the old tradition that children could only receive their first Holy Communion at the age of twelve. It was not until the decree of Saint Pope Pius X on early Holy Communion Quam singulari of August 7, 1910, that it was possible to receive First Holy Communion already in the "years of discernment", around the age of seven.^[2]

Every day, Magdalena joined her peers in spiritual preparation, led by Chaplain Žagar. She carefully memorized every word the priest said, especially about the real presence of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine. Magdalena quickly grasped the material and acquired the necessary knowledge. Chaplain Žagar, who was also her confessor, allowed her to approach the Lord's table. Twelve-year-old Magdalena therefore approached her first communion in 1847 in the company of her peers. The writer of her youth, Janez Plaper, writes,

that upon this first entry into her pure heart, the Most Holy God "kindled such a burning love in her that her physical strength began to weaken. She could barely walk the few steps to her place in the pew. Here she fell to her knees and stared motionlessly at the image of Our Lady of the Snows above the altar for a quarter of an hour. When she stood up to leave the church after the Holy Mass, she heard a voice:

'Don't tell anyone what you have experienced.' Astonished by the voice, she thought that the other girls could also hear it.

'No,' she heard the mysterious voice again, 'they do not hear this voice, but you alone. I am the one you have just consumed.' A short time later, she left the church with the other girls of her age.'^[3][4]

Gornik's life is connected with unusual mystical phenomena, such as visions, stigmata, the renewal of Christ's suffering, living without physical food for many years, foreseeing events, unusual healings.

According to theologian Martina Kraljič, author of the book Magdalena Gornik, "In the Ljubljana Archdiocesan Archives, all sources about Magdalena Gornik are accessible to everyone, there are 6,800 pages of them" . She also said that her notes and correspondence were kept by the priest Frančišek Lampe, who also took the famous photograph of the stigmata during her ecstasy.^[5]

She is said to have experienced her first ecstasy at the age of thirteen, on August 11, 1848. From August 24, 1848 until her death on February 23, 1896, she is said to have a transfiguration every evening, as well as on Fridays during Holy Week and at every mass. The transfigurations were based on the church year. During the transfiguration, her body was insensitive to external stimuli.

Gornik was later able to tell everything that happened during the ecstasy, which were associated with visions and suffering; at that time, the stigmata were also said to have opened to her.^[6]

Gornik is said to have experiences visions throughout her life, the content of which varied greatly. They corresponded to the course of the church year. The first vision was said to have occurred in the spring of 1847, and the last one the day before her death. In her visions, Magdalena supposedly saw and spoke with angels, saints, Virgin Mary, and the Holy Trinity. According to her, the angels taught her about the worship of Mary and God and wept over the unbelief of people. The Virgin Mary supposedly spoke to her about chastity and prayer, encouraged her to patiently endure suffering, and invited her to contemplate the suffering and death of Jesus; Mary also appeared as an advocate for people with her Son.

On Fridays and during Lent, she witnessed Jesus' suffering. On Maundy Thursday, she also participated in the Last Supper, and on Good Friday, she witnessed Jesus' Stations of the Cross and death. On Easter, she witnessed Jesus' resurrection and then on Ascension, his ascension. Sometimes, through visions, she would follow the Holy Mass in her home church from home.

Magdalene is said to have received both sacramental (the kind that every believer can receive) and mystical Holy Communion (some saints). Both of these occurred most often in trance. She received Mystical Communion only in trance. At that time, Jesus himself, a priest-saint, or an angel administered it to her. Many people, including priests, are said to have seen the host suddenly appear in her mouth, and soon after they saw a special chalice. After such an event, Magdalena always gave thanks, and sometimes even admonished those present to do penance.^[7]

Magdalene is said to have received the marks of the wounds of Jesus or stigmata in November 1848 as a thirteen-year-old girl on her hands, feet and side, about which she herself wrote:

"That week before Advent 1848 I received the wounds. I had known it for three weeks beforehand. All three: Jesus, Mary and St. Francis told me that I would receive them. On Wednesday at eleven o'clock I received the wounds. From the sky very thin streams of blood flowed into my hands and feet; and a thick stream flowed into my right side. It hurt me terribly. Since then my wounds have bled every Friday; and in 1849 they also bled every Wednesday. Every day they hurt me from three to four in the afternoon."^[8][9]

She hid her wounds so much that for a long time even her family did not know about them; until 1855 she bore visible wounds on her body. When she saw the Savior crowned with thorns or suffering in some other way in a vision, the wounds of the crown of thorns would open on her forehead. During Holy Week, the wounds of the flagellation would also open on her body. The stigmata caused her severe pain, but Magdalena did not complain. The wounds were examined by doctors, priests and visitors, but no one found any fraud.^[8]

Up until the age of thirteen, Magdalena ate like everyone else; from September 25, 1848 until her death, she is said to have no longer needed any earthly food; she is said to have lived without any food for 47 years. She could not even bear the smell of ordinary food. Her food was said to have been the Holy Eucharist and a kind of "heavenly food", which she received only in a daze. Her attendants told the priest Lesjak that accordingly she had no bodily secretions. Despite her inedia, she — when she was healthy — easily performed her daily duties.^[10]

Gornik is said to have received several objects in a state of extasy, which were visible not only to herself, but also to other people. One of these was an unusual or heavenly dish that Gornik received almost every day at the end of the extasy. Most often, she received it in a vision from the Virgin Mary or from an angel. Eyewitnesses reported that this dish was in the form of a small piece or grain, often of different colors.

Another peculiarity was the cross that Gornik supposedly received in the trance and that remained on her chest even after that. This cross was said to have hung on her body without any string and never fell to the ground. Several priests held this cross in their hands; they described its dimensions and color in detail.^[11]

Levitation is a mystical phenomenon in which a human body is lifted into the air, floats in the air, or moves without any natural aid. The opposite of this phenomenon is heaviness (weightless), when even an otherwise weak body becomes so heavy that others cannot move it or can do so only with great difficulty. There are reports of both phenomena in the case of Magdalene.

Magdalene's levitation is said to have occurred most often when she strongly desired to receive Holy Communion; at that time her body rose into the air. She is also said to have levitated when the priest blessed the Most Holy, during the mystical death on Good Friday and the mystical resurrection on Easter morning.^[12] The difficulty is said to have occurred when Magdalena was in a trance.^[13]

In a state of extasy, Magdalena had gift of xenoglossy; she had understood and spoken languages that she had never learned or heard spoken. She spoke Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean (=Babylonian) and other, even non-European, languages. Some of the languages she spoke in trance were not recognized even by the greatest language experts.^[14]

Clairvoyance is a mystical phenomenon by which a person recognizes and, so to speak, sees the state of the human soul. Magdalena is also said to have the gift of insight into the inner state of the soul: whether someone is in sanctifying grace or in mortal sin; whoever asked her, she also revealed their mental state to them: not only to believers, but also to many priests. Magdalena also revealed his shortcomings to her spiritual leader, the Gornik chaplain Žagar.^[15]

Prophecy means predicting future events. Magdalena predicted future events many times. On August 2, 1848, she have predicted the flight of Pope Pius IX from Rome. Magdalena mentioned this event to Jernej Krže from Vinica at the beginning of November 1848. That same month, on November 24, 1848, the Pope actually had to flee from Rome to Gaeta due to the tense political situation. She also allegedly predicted various plagues, plagues and evils.^[16]

There are many written documents about Gornik. Among them are her own handwritten letters, as well as handwritten reports from people who observed her and wrote reports to the diocese or to newspapers. How she was affected by the opposition and with what spirit she accepted it is shown by this handwritten letter she wrote to the fifty-year-old Franciscan brother Tobija Vernik in 1851.

The letter is from June 14, 1851. Because some of the Gothic letters and the ancient language may make it difficult for some to read, we are bringing it here, in a footnote, as it is written, and in the article in modern Slovene and in English translation:

Gornik died on February 23, 1896. Her relatives, all of whom were poor, worried about providing food for the funeral guests. Before dying, Gornik reassured them, saying God would see to it that everything would be alright. Due to snow and cold, only eight mourners gathered at the open grave for the funeral. Today, numerous pilgrims gather at her grave, pleading for her intercession with God.^[19]

Although Gornik opposed both secular and church authorities, whose main concern was to limit pilgrims, church authorities softened towards her after her death.

Archbishop of Maribor Marjan Turnšek says the following

"It is surprising how Magdalene, even as a young girl, was able to accept so much suffering. The authenticity of the events can also be inferred from her maturation and growth in a virtuous life. Although unusual mystical phenomena did not yet guarantee holiness, it seems that in the life of Magdalene Gornik, virtues gradually developed towards a heroic level."^[20]

Cardinal Franc Rode says abaut Magdalena Gornik

"Given the extraordinary occurrence of mystical experiences and the saintly life of Magdalena Gornik, it is natural to think of the process for beatification and canonization. Other nations would have done this long ago." (Rome, September 3, 2008)^[21]

Painter Lojze Čemažar

In 2000, Magdalena Gornik was depicted by the academic painter Lojze Čemažar, together with some other Slovenian saints, in a fresco of the outer chapel of the Church of the Queen of Peace in Kurešček. According to his own testimony, he saw in a dream the place where he should paint her, as well as her size, appearance and attributes (cross, crown of thorns, mystical communion).^[22]

Starting the procedure for her beatification requires that miracles would begin to occur through her intercession. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints requires that the local Church first appoint a postulator and then submit an application to begin the official procedure.

On February 19, 2019, the Archbishop of Ljubljana and Metropolitan Stanislav Zore appointed the long-time editor of Družina Franci Petrič as postulator, who said: "My tasks are two. First: in the process I must prove the credible and extensive hearing of the Holiness about the candidate; the second task is to prove the widespread opinion among the faithful about the graces received from God through her intercession."^[23]

On November 23, 2021, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued permission for the archdiocese to begin the official process for the beatification and canonization of the Servant of God Magdalena Gornik. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, 2022, the process began and is ongoing. From this time, she has the honorific title Servant of God.

In general, newspapers of the time were not in favor of mystical phenomena: significantly less so than today, when such writing or reporting does not bother anyone. The events on Gora were first informed by Bleiweis's Novice. An unsigned author from Ljubljana stumbled upon Magdalena in the Newspaper section on 6 June 1849; Although he did not see her himself, he declared her — according to rumors — to be sick, and he writes as follows:

"We must take this opportunity to say that these days we have heard about the so-called disappearance of a girl on Gora in the Ribnica district, such that she is either really sick or a fraud, who was set up by some hidden imposter or fraudster, if everything that people spread about this girl around the world is true... So let's not make miracles out of things that are either really sick or a fraud."^[24][25]

In the Vienna newspaper »Der Lloyd«, an unsigned reporter also from Ljubljana wrote in German on 29 July 1849:

»In a certain village in the Ribnica district, a young girl in a magnetized state is said to be causing great excitement, because large crowds flock to her and have her prophesy, believing that she is a saint. This delusion is said to be promoted, as I hear, by the local clergy. Therefore, the bishop's council would strongly support the measures (to be carried out by the political authorities) with the transfer, if unforeseen obstacles were encountered among the superstitious people. "

When this newspaper mentions that the girl was "magnetized", it means that she was hypnotized; this term was understood by the common people at that time; today we understand magnetism in its narrower, i.e. physical sense. When doctor from Kočevje Česnik^[26] during his professional observation of her phenomena commissioned by the authorities, he did indeed try to hypnotize her, he never succeeded and concluded that she was not susceptible to such experiments at all.^[27][28]

The bishop of Ljubljana Anton Wolf initially acted on newspaper reports, saying that it was a fraud. At the same time, the civil authorities began to pressure him to take action. However, he was aware that action by the civil authorities was not necessary. However, he adhered to the least demanding principle, that it was necessary to wait and investigate the matter. He ordered the responsible priests to report to him regularly on the matter, while at the same time trying to stop the influx of pilgrims. In order not to encourage people to make pilgrimages, neither Wolf nor his successors ever personally visited Gornik's Magdalene; at the same time, he did not send any authorized representative from the diocese in this regard.^[29]

The leadership of the Slovenian Church was probably overly cautious for many decades — also due to bad experiences with the impostor Vodiška Johanca, although it did not express any doubt about the miraculous events in connection with Magdalena's life. For several reasons, the process for declaring her blessed was not initiated for an extremely long time, although these unusual witnessed events recommended such a procedure from the church's point of view.^[30]

• Father Pius
• Saint Francis of Assisi
• Theresa Neumann

• Petrinci with the church on Gora
• Gora pri Sodražici
• Magdalena Gornikova was born here
• A brother built a new house on the site of the fire in 1881
• Magdalena went to this chapel to pray
• Many pilgrims come to this holy place
• Magdalena is said to have had her first vision at this cross
• When she went to get sewing supplies on field, Mary is said to have appeared to her at this place
• This is where Magdalene was baptized
• Altar of St. Joseph in the church on Gora
• Altar of Mary of the Snows and baptistery
• Pilgrims come to Magdalene's grave
• Pilgrims recommend themselves to Magdalene's intercession
• Magdalene's grave
• Stroj 1857: Ljubljana bishop Wolf^[31]

• Martina Kraljič: Magdalena Gornik. Cultural Society of Magdalena Gornik, Medvedica 2009.
• France M. Dolinar: Marija Magdalena Gornik (1835-1896). Družina, Ljubljana 2019. ISBN: 978-961-04-0549-8

• OKRONANA (Crowned) — a film about the mystic Magdalena Gornik | YouTube
• Jožica Kolar: Slovenian mystic — Magdalena Gornik, film commentary Archived 2014-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
• (Video) Do you know the mystic Magdalena Gornik? Watch the movie! Written by A. S.
• Interesting facts: (Video) Mary's apparition to Magdalena Gornik

• Magdalena Gornik | Encyclopedia MDPI
• Magdalenin Glas z Gore 2024 /Magdalena's Voice from Gora 2024 (Magdalenin glas z Gore – Posebna revija o Božji služabnici Magdaleni Gornik)
• Magdalena Gornik's Hearth (testimony 11_2008)
• Birth and Life: Magdalena Gornik
• Blaž Kovačič: Magdalena Gornik - birth anniversary 19.07.2017
• Spirituality: A special woman from Gora pri Sodražici: 47 years without food, wounds of Christ, zamaknjenia
• Newspaper: Slovenian mystic
• Family: Marija Magdalena Gornik
• »We have a great intercession in Magdalena Gornik« 17. 8. 2008 | Marjan Pogačnik | Interview with Martina Kraljič, author of a book about a 19th-century Slovenian mystic (full interview)
• Zarja: Mystic Magdalena lived on God's grains
• Občestvo: Pilgrimage along the paths of Magdalena Gornik
• Facebook: Magdalena mistikinja
• "We have a great intercession in Magdalena Gornik" Druzina: August 17, 2008 | Marjan Pogačnik | Our conversation Conversation with Martina Kraljič, author of a book about a 19th-century Slovenian mystic
• Magdalena Gornik. March 2, 2014 | Katja Lavrih | Our Family
• Mysticism - the call of God's love: Heaven, vice, hell - testimonies of seers: Kovalska, Magdalena Gornikova, Vidka. multilingual
• Jana Vizjak - Pictures dedicated to Magdalena Gornik (Ana Škrlep)
• Andrej Mrak: How we were deprived of a new Slovenian saint (Part 1 - Crime ...) One hundred years ago, Johanca of Vodice was exposed
• Andrej Mrak: How we were deprived of a new Slovenian saint (Part 2 ... and punishment). Postcards from the past
• Mystic Magdalena lived on God's grains. Jana, July 21, 2009, Simona Furlan | Photo: Šimen Zupančič Archived 2014-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Kristina D. | Bitno.net: GREAT MYSTIC WOMEN OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (8) Magdalena Gornik – Slovenian stigmatizer and suffering soul who lived without food for 47 years
• Mysticism in the Catholic Church. Magdalena Gornik - Slovenian mystic, stigmatizer and suffering soul
• Magdalena Gornik -Mystic, Stigmatic and Victim Soul Magdalena Gornik
• Visions: Magdalena Gornik
• Slovenia Revealed: The Mysterious Life of Magdalena Gornik from Jaka Bartolj - MMC RTV SLO