Profile
Mary was one of nine children born to the industrialist Clement di Rosa and Countess Camilla Albani. Her father owned a large spinning mill, and Mary grew up in a happy and pious family. She was educated by Visitandine nuns. Mary’s mother died when the she was seventeen, and she left school to help manage her father‘s estate. Her heart set on a religious life; she turned down many suitors. She worked with young girls in her community, those who worked in her father‘s mills, and the sick in local hospital, including endless work during the cholera epidemic of 1836. She founded a home dedicated to the spiritual needs of young girls, and a school for deaf children. In 1840, she became the superior of the Handmaids of Charity, nuns who cared for the sick, and she took the name Mary Crucifixa. The community received their bishop‘s approval in 1843 and papal approval in 1850. Mary led them until her death.
Born
- 6 November 1813 in Brescia, Italy as Paula Frances Mary di Rosa
Died
- 15 December 1855 in Brescia, Italy of natural causes
Venerated
- 10 July 1932 by Pope Pius XI (decree of heroic virtues)
Beatified
- 26 May 1940 by Pope Pius XII
Canonized
- 12 June 1954 by Pope Pius XII
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-mary-di-rosa/
