Profile
Constanse was born to Italian nobility, the youngest of 16 children of Francesco Cerioli and Francesca Corniani; she was born with a heart condition and slight spinal deformity that gave her a lifetime of frail health. She was educated in Bergamo, Italy. On 30 April 1835, at age 19, she entered into an arranged marriage with 59 year old Gaetano Busecchi; he was a difficult man with poor health, and their 19 year marriage was a bit of a trial. Mother of three – one of died in infancy, one at age one, and her son Carlo died in 1854 at age 16; her husband died a few months later. A wealthy widow alone, Paola began sharing her wealth with poor and caring for orphans and neglected children, sometimes taking them into her own home. Feeling a call to religious life, she took a vow of chastity on 25 December 1856, vows of poverty and obedience on 8 February 1857. She founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Comonte di Seriate, Bergamo, Italy in December 1867, taking the name Paola Elisabetta; it’s mission is to help abandoned children and work with new parents. She founded a corresponding men’s Congregation of the Holy Family on 4 November 1863.
Born
- 28 January 1816 in Soncino, Cremona, Italy as Constanse Honorata Cerioli
Died
- 24 December 1865 in Comonte di Seriate, Bergamo, Italy of natural causes
Venerated
- 2 July 1939 by Pope Pius XII (decree of heroic virtues)
Beatified
- 19 March 1950 by Pope Pius XII
Canonized
- 16 May 2004 by Pope John Paul II
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-paola-elisabetta-cerioli/
