Stigmata
In 1495 Lucy went to Rome and joined a group of Dominican tertiaries who were living in community. The next year she was sent to Viterbo to establish a new convent and here she found she was frequently the object of unwanted attention. It was here, on 25 February 1496, that she is reported to have received the stigmata. Lucy did her best to hide these marks, and was frequently in spiritual ecstasy. The house had a steady stream of visitors who came to speak to Lucy, and, often, just to stare at her. Even the other Sisters were concerned about her, and at one point called in the local bishop who watched Lucy go through the drama of the Passion for twelve hours straight.
The bishop would not make a decision on Lucy, and called in the local Inquisition. Reports here vary, some indicating that he referred the case directly to the pope, who is said to have spoken with her and, with the assistance of Columba of Rieti (another mystic of the Dominican Third Order), ultimately decided in her favor, telling her to go home and pray for him. Other sources question the accuracy of these reports.
At that time Pietro also came to her, making a final plea to persuade Lucia to return with him as his wife. She declined, and Pietro left alone. He would himself later become a Franciscan friar and a famous preacher.
When Lucy returned to the convent in Viterbo, she found that the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole d'Este I, had determined to build a convent in Ferrara, a city about 230 miles north, and that, having heard of her, he determined that she would be its prioress. In the summer of 1497 he invited her to be the founder of this new community. Lucy, the Dominican Order, and the pope all agreed quickly to the new proposal. The municipal council of Viterbo, however, objected, not wanting to lose their celebrated mystic. She had been already been praying for some time for a way to create a new community of stricter observance, however, and agreed to go to the new convent.
Read more about this topic: Lucy Of Narni