Maria Cristina of Savoy (Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia; 14 November 1812 – 21 January 1836) was Queen of the Two Sicilies as the first wife of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. She died as a result of childbirth. She is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been beatified by Pope Francis.
Family Maria Cristina was the youngest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este."Beatification of Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy", Real Casa delle Due Sicilie, January 1, 2014
Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. Ferdinand was the fourteenth child and third son born to Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Theresa of Austria. Maria Beatrice was the eldest daughter of Ercole III d'Este and Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara.
Queen
On 21 November 1832, Maria Cristina married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Acquasanta. The bride was twenty years old and the groom twenty-two. The next day, she donated her gold-threaded wedding dress to the Redemptorists to adorn a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary.Pupo cssr, Antonio. "A treasure to be preserved", Scala News, February 18, 2022
Maria Cristina was described as beautiful but also timid and shy: modest and reserved, she was deeply religious.Women and Faith: Catholic Religious Life in Italy from Late Antiquity to the Present, (Lucetta Scaraffia, Gabriella Zarri, eds.) Harvard University Press, 1999, p. 226 Her relationship to Ferdinand was not happy, and he had little patience for her nervous modesty. While she was Queen of the Two Sicilies, she prevented the use of death sentences, and was known as "the Holy Queen"."Liturgical Memory of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy in Sicily", The Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy, August 2, 2022
She died at the age of 23, after having given birth five days before to her only child, later Francis II of the Two Sicilies.
Beatification
On 9 July 1859 she was declared to be a Servant of God, on 6 May 1939 a Venerable Servant of God, and on 3 May 2013 Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession, a further stage on her process to beatification.Vatican Information Service press release, 3 May 2013 Her beatification took place on 25 January 2014 at the Basilica of Santa Chiara (Naples), where she is buried, making her Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy. Ancestry
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