Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli (1890–1945) is a Roman Catholic religious Sister who was born near Milan, Italy, and joined in 1914 the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was beatified on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Sister Maria Pierina was urged in many visions by the Blessed Mother and Jesus Himself to spread the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, in reparation for the many insults that Jesus suffered in His Passion, such as to be slapped, spit upon and kissed by Judas, as well as now being dishonoured in many ways in the Blessed Sacrament by neglect, sacrileges and profanations.
She was given a medal, which on one side, bore a replica of the Holy Shroud of Turin and the inscription, "Illumina, Domine, vultum tuum super nos." (Psalm 66: "May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us"). On the reverse, was a radiant host with the words, "Mane nobiscum, Domine." ("Stay with us, O Lord").
In 1940, when the Second World War had the world in turmoil, Italy saw a wide distribution of this medal. Relatives and friends saw that their soldiers, sailors and aviators were provided with the replica of the Holy Face of Jesus since the medal was already famous for its miracles and countless spiritual and temporal favours.
The first medal of the Holy Face was offered to Pope Pius XII who approved the devotion and the medal. She had also reported that Jesus wanted a special Feast on the day before Ash Wednesday in honor of His Holy Face, to be preceded by a Novena (9 days) of prayers. In 1958, Pope Pius XII declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics.