Seraphina Sforza

Sveva da Montefeltro (1434 – 8 September 1478) was an Italian beatified nun and noblewoman of the House of Montefeltro. She is venerated by the Catholic Church for her life of devotion despite the hardships she encountered.

After an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen to Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, Sveva became known as Sveva Sforza. Some years later, Alessandro, himself carrying on a public affair with another woman, accused Sveva of adultery and plotting to kill him. He forced her to enter a convent of the Poor Clare order; there she took the name Seraphina (or Serafina), and later became abbess. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754, and has been venerated since, especially by Franciscans.

Life Sveva da Montefeltro was born in the city-state of Urbino, located in present-day Italy, in the first half of 1434.

Sveva's older brother, Oddantonio da Montefeltro, succeeded his father as Count and cared for Seraphina until his assassination in 1444. The next Count was Sveva's half-brother, Federico da Montefeltro, who in turn became her guardian. In March 1446, the 12-year-old Sveva was implicated in Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta's plot to murder Federico. The other conspirators were executed, and Sveva was sent to Rome to stay with her maternal uncle, Cardinal Prospero Colonna. The couple were married by proxy on 9 January 1448, and a few months later Sveva traveled to Pesaro to join her new husband.

Many hagiographies describe the early marriage as a happy one, but another source mentions violent quarrels. In 1453, a series of letters to Alessandro from Benedetta Reguardati, the family physician, complain of Sveva's temperament and describe her as hysterical. During his six-year absence, Sveva raised her stepchildren, assisted by her aunt Vittoria Colonna and her cousin , the children's grandmother.

Upon his return, Alessandro began an affair with Pacifica Semperoli, the wife of a local doctor. He became convinced that Sveva and Vittoria were plotting against him with Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and accused Sveva both of adultery and of trying to poison him. According to Lèon de Clary's account, Sveva refused to answer Alessandro's questions, and he interpreted this as an admission of guilt. Seraphina, who remained with the Poor Clares, was elected abbess in 1475, an office she held until her death on 8 September 1478. She was popularly venerated for her life of devotion and many miracles were attested at her tomb. When her body was exhumed some years later, it was found incorrupt. and Franciscans observe her feast day on 9 September. She is sometimes presented as an example of a holy stepmother or of holiness in an abusive marriage.