Agostina Livia Pietrantoni

Agostina Livia Pietrantoni
Born 27 March 1864
Pozzaglia Sabina, Italy
Died 13 November 1894 (aged 30)
Rome
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified 12 November 1972 by Pope Paul VI
Canonized 18 April 1999, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II
Feast 12 November

Agostina Livia Pietrantoni (sometimes spelt "Petrantoni") (March 27, 1864 November 13, 1894) was an Italian nun and nurse, who was killed by one of her patients. She is regarded as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Early life

Olivia Pietrantoni (known to the family as "Livia") was born on 27 March 1864 in Pozzaglia Sabina, about 50 kilometres north-east of Rome; the second of eleven children in a farming family.[1] She started work at the age of seven, doing manual labour for road construction.

Religious vocation

Refusing offers of marriage, Livia travelled to Rome with an uncle at the age of 22, with the aim of entering a religious order. She was turned away, but a few months later was accepted into the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joan Antidea Thouret and took the name of Agostina.

Nursing

Sister Agostina was sent to Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome as a nurse. While working in the tuberculosis ward, she contracted the disease herself but made a full recovery.[2] She was harassed by a male patient called Joseph Romanelli who eventually attacked and stabbed her to death on 13 November 1894.[3]

Beatification and Canonization

Agostina Petrantoni was beatified by Pope Paul VI on 12 November 1972, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1999. Her feast day is 12 November.[4]

References

  1. Bernard Bangley, Butler's Lives of the Saints: Concise, Modernized Edition, (p.261)
  2. Catholic Online: St. Agostina Petrantoni
  3. Sarah Gallick (1 December 2009). The Big Book of Women Saints. HarperCollins. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-06-195656-0.
  4. The Holy See: Agostina Livia Pietrantoni