St. Humility, born Rosanesa of Faenza, was first wife and mother, then anchoress, then abbess. Wealthy from her birth in 1226, she married a bore two children, both of whom died after baptism. The couple later made a reciprocal vow of chastity, and Rosanesa’s husband entered religion as a monk. Rosanesa herself became an anchoress—a hermit—and was sealed into a cell adjacent to the Vallumbrosan church of St. Apollinaris. Her cell had two apertures: one for food; the other, for the Eucharist. Later, the aperture for food was also used for counsel and for miraculous cures. After twelve years of seclusion, St. Humility was asked to found a convent by the Vallumbrosan order. She obeyed, and continued to lead a remarkable life there until her death in 1310.This fresco, one of a series, illustrates one of the many miracles she worked. She became ill at one time and requested ice from the well. Having learned obedience from their Foundress, her sisters dutifully lowered a bucket into the well and found ice, during August in Italy. St. Humility is typically depicted with a flail and the sheepskin cap she wore during her life. Her feast day is May 22. She left several mystical writings and her body, now in Bagno a Ripoli, is incorruptible.
