Born on January 5, 1846, in a village near Nazareth called Ibillin. An answered prayer to her parents, after they went on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem, to ask for Our Lady’s intercession for a daughter. Sadly, before she turned three, both of her parents died from an infectious disease. Mariam went to live with a wealthy paternal uncle. Although she was well treated, her intense devotion to Our Lady, and her refusal for marriage, led her to work as a servant. After she was miraculously healed by Our Lady from the wounds inflicted upon her by a man who attempted to kill her for her faith, in June 1867, Mariam finally joined the Carmelites in Pau (France) and chose Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified, as her religious name.

Later, Mariam’s mystical experiences became obvious as the stigma manifested itself, she also would often be seen levitating and frequently fell into ecstasies.  In 1875, the saint came back to Palestine along with ten nuns to found a Carmel in Bethlehem. The Lord led her to the exact location to establish the monastery, which is on top of the hill of David, in front of the hill of the Nativity. As the only sister who spoke Arabic, Mariam oversaw the workmen who were building the Carmel at Bethlehem, during which she was badly injured, which led to her death on August 26th, 1878, having uttered the words ‘My, Jesus, mercy.’ She was buried at the Carmel which she founded, in Bethlehem. On November 13, 1983, Pope John Paul II declared her Blessed, and she was canonized on May 15th, 2015.

“The life of the little ones, such as Saint Mariam Bouardy - “The little Lilly of Palestine”, are often the ones remembered, not those with titles,” said His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, who presided over a Mass at the Carmel Monastery in Bethlehem, on August 26, 2023, on the feast day of Saint Mary of Jesus crucified. The Holy Mass was concelebrated by Mgr. Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, bishop emeritus, Mgr. Ilario Antoniazzi, Archbishop of Tunis, as well as several other priests. It was attended by local Christians and religious men and women from all over the surrounding towns.

During his homily, Mgr. Pizzaballa urged the faithful to take this Saint’s way of life as an example for them. “The crucified Jesus was at the center of every decision made by this Saint. If you choose to put Jesus where He ought to be, at the center of your life, I assure you many of your problems will cease. Because this is the promise of Christ: Rest for your weary soul”. The Patriarch ended by thanking the Carmelite sisters for their continuous life of prayer, which reminds us that Jesus is the true source of life.

“Saint Mariam helped me see the splendor of Carmel itself, which means garden of God,” said Audrey Cuellar, a 24-year-old young woman from the USA, who is currently discerning religious Carmelite life, and is visiting the Holy Land for a couple of months.

Daughters of the Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified group were also present at the celebration. They formed this group the same year the Saint was canonized. They live according to this Saint’s teachings and serve the Carmelite sisters. Angela Abu Zuluf, a member of the group, expressed saying: “Many faithful from different rites gathered today to celebrate this Saint that taught us how to embrace our nothingness, and foster a life of prayer”.