SAINT ROSE VENERINI

Feast Day - May 7

Lived (February 9, 1656 – May 7, 1728)

Born at Viterbo, Italy, to a doctor. When her fiancé died, she entered a convent, but soon returned home to care for her newly widowed mother. Meanwhile, Rose invited the women of the neighborhood to recite the Rosary in her home, forming a kind of sodality with them.

As she looked to her future under the spiritual guidance of a Jesuit priest, Rose became convinced that she was called to become a teacher in the world rather than a contemplative nun in a convent. Clearly, she made the right choice: She was a born teacher, so in 1685, she opened a free school for girls.

Soon the cardinal invited her to oversee the training of teachers and the administration of schools in his diocese of Montefiascone. As Rose’s reputation grew, she was called upon to organize schools in many parts of Italy, including Rome. Her disposition was right for the task as well, for Rose often met considerable opposition but was never deterred.

She died in Rome, where a number of miracles were attributed to her. In 1952, she was beatified and canonized in 2006. The group of women she had invited to prayer, was ultimately given the rank of a religious congregation. Today, the Venerini Sisters can be found in the United States and some other places, working among Italian immigrants.