Paula Frassinetti

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St. Paula Frassinetti
Foundress
Born March 3, 1809
Genoa, Italy
Died June 11, 1882
Honored in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified June 8, 1930 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized March 11, 1984 by Pope John Paul II
Feast June 11

St. Paula Frassinetti is an Italian saint in the Roman Catholic Church and foundress of the Congregation St. Dorothea. Her feast day is June 12.[1]

Life

Paula was born March 3, 1809 in Genoa, Italy to Giovanni Battista Frassinetti, a cloth merchant, and his wife Angela. The third of five children, her four brothers all became priests. When she was nine years old, her mother died and an aunt came to help with the household. Three years later her aunt died, and at the age of twelve, Paula assumed the responsibility.

At the age of nineteen, Paula went to stay with her brother Giuseppe, a priest at the seaside village of Quinto in Liguria. In 1834 she and six other women form a small community called the "Daughters of Holy Faith". Fr. Giuseppe and members of the parish started a small school in a church that had been dedicated to St. Clare. The sisters teach in the school, and go to Genoa to help during a break out of Cholera.[2]

In 1835 Fr. Luca Passi, of Bergamo, a friend of her brother Giuseppe, asked Paula if she would assume the Pious Work of Saint Dorothy, a project he had founded to serve the poorest and most needy youth. Thereafter the Daughters of Holy Faith became known as the Sisters of Saint Dorothy. On May 19, 1841, Paula establishes a house in Rome. The work of the institute expands beyond Liguria and Rome, to other parts of Italy as new houses, boarding schools, and orphanages are established.[3] Later the sisters establish a presence in Malta, Portugal, and Brazil. In the United Kingdom the sisters run an International Student's Residence and are involved in Parish Ministry.[4]

She died on June 11, 1882 after a bout with pneumonia following several strokes.[5]

Her body was found to be incorrupt in 1906.[5]

Veneration

Paula was beatified by Pope Pius XI on June 8, 1930 and canonized on March 11, 1984 by Pope John Paul II.[2]

Legacy

There are about 1,200 Sisters active in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.[6]

Quotes

"Work in full simplicity" "We're in God's hands, and we are so very well" "Our mission is to educate thru heart and love[7]

See also

Incorruptibility

References

  1. ↑ "St. Paula Frassinetti", Catholic Courier, Diocese of Rochester, NY
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Paula Frassinetti". Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  3. ↑ Joseph S.J., P.J. "St. Paula Frassinetti", Vatican Radio
  4. ↑ "The Sisters of Saint Dorothy", Malta Dorothean Province
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Saint Paula Frassinetti". Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  6. ↑ Aubut, Rebecca. "Sisters of St Dorothy celebrate 100 years in the United States", The Anchor, Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts
  7. ↑ "Paula Frassinetti - Letters to the Congregations!, Paulinas Editions, 1997

Further reading

  • Jones, Kathleen (2006). Butler's Lives of the Saints. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.  ISBN 0-86012-255-7

External links

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