Hindiyya al-'Ujaimi

Hindiyya (1720–1798; also Hindiyé or Hendiye, "the Indian"), born Hannah al-ʿUjaimi (other spellings: Anna ʿAdjaymi, ʿAjjeymi, or ʿAjami) was a Maronite mystic nun who claimed to have many visions of Jesus and Mary. She was a central figure in the history of the Maronite Church in the 18th century. Hindiyya founded in 1750 the controversial religious order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was dissolved by order of pope Pius VI in 1779.

Life Hindiyya was born on August 6, 1720, in Aleppo to Shukrallah Ujaimi and mother Helene Hawwa, both devout Maronite Christians. Similar to other Maronite Christians of the time, the Ujaimis were merchants who were getting increasingly wealthy due to commercial treaties signed between European powers and the Ottomans' in 1675. Hindiyya had a brother named Nicholas and sisters, although the exact number of siblings is unclear.

Hindiyya studied under the Jesuits, which encouraged her in developing her spirituality and exposed her to the stories of other young women who had chosen a religious life over the secular path. Hindiyya in turn embraced many Roman Catholic devotions, as the frequent auricular Confession. The support from the Jesuits lasted until 1748.

She moved from Aleppo to Bkerke, Lebanon, where on March 25, 1750, she founded her own religious order called the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Western devotion she imported among the Maronites and that made forthwith success. She claimed to have visions of Christ, to make miracles, to speak with Christ in mystical unions She soon became considered as a living saint and almost an object of veneration.

Role of Women The measures she took in an effort to worship Christ and strengthen her relationship were often ridiculed by her mother, siblings, and neighbors who felt she was depriving herself. Her behavior was antisocial and viewed as extreme; she refrained from speaking to her father on a particular instance claiming, “Our Lord Jesus Christ said that whosoever does not leave his father and mother…will not deserve my love.” Her decision to avoid socializing and participating in social rituals expected of young women her age was seen as rebellious and she was the victim of tremendous ridicule. Determined to act on the visions she had as a young girl, she sought to establish a confraternity and was determined to surpass the gender roles assigned to women by religious figures.

Doctrine During the inspections to her Congregation held in the 1770s, Hindiyya was charged with many heterodox doctrines in comparison with the Maronite historical doctrine, for example her claims that she was united with Christ in a hypostatic, real and not accidental union, that her knowledge was more perfect than that of the angels, that it was by her that Jesus would judge souls in death, that she was infallible, that many verses of the Bible referred to her, that she was greater than Mary, and that because of her union with Christ she was to be worshipped. Hindiyya was also charged with many illicit liturgical behaviors, such as taking the Communion whenever she wanted, refusing to fast, claiming spiritual jurisdiction, and even administering confession.