St. Magdalena of Canossa

St. Magdalen of Canossa was born Maddalena Gabriella di Canossa on 1 March 1774 at Verona in Italy, into the wealthy and noble family of the Marquises of Canossa. Orphaned of her father and abandoned by her mother, she passed a difficult childhood, but grew into a young woman of deep faith who, despite her rank and the expectations of her family, felt called to give herself wholly to the service of the poorest and most neglected.

Renouncing her position and inheritance, she began by gathering and teaching poor and abandoned girls, and in 1808 she founded the Daughters of Charity, known as the Canossian Sisters, and later a corresponding congregation of the Sons of Charity, devoted to the education of poor children, the care of the sick, the instruction of the faith, and the support of struggling clergy. She spread her foundations across northern Italy through years of labor and hardship. She died at Verona on 10 April 1835 and was canonized in 1988. Her memory is kept on 8 May.