Clelia Barbieri (13 February 1847 – 13 July 1870) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and the founder of the
Little Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows.
She is regarded as the youngest founder of a religious congregation in the history of the Catholic church, as she was just twenty-three when she died. Barbieri declined the married life in her adolescence – even when pressured – in favor of leading a life dedicated to the needs of others; she served as an educator for a while and joined a religious movement which made her a notable figure in her village.
Barbieri's canonization cause started on 15 March 1930 when she was made a
Servant of God
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...
, progressed with her beatification on 27 October 1968, and culminated with her canonization on 9 April 1989 under
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.
Life
Clelia Barbieri was born in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
in 1847 to the poor workers Giuseppe Barbieri and Giacinta Nannetti. Her little sister was Ernestina (b. 1850). Barbieri was
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
straight after her birth as "Clelia Rachele Maria". Her father died in 1855 due to a
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic so she started to work alongside her mother spinning hemp to support her siblings. During this time her mother and Ernestina moved into a house near the local parish church due to her doctor uncle's personal intervention.
[ The girl started to spend her time in deep contemplation during her childhood and despite her poverty, she was raised in a pious household in which religious education was imparted to her and she made her ]First Communion
First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...
on 17 June 1858.[
Barbieri later joined "The Workers of Christian Catechism" as an assistant teacher in 1861 and became such an inspirational leader that the parish priest – Father Gaetano Guido – entrusted her with the teaching and guidance of girls in doctrine.][ Up until 1864, she rejected marriage offers put forth to her and opted instead to lead a pious life of service to others. Barbieri soon founded a separate group known as the "Suore Minime dell'Addolorata" (01-05-1868) aged 21. This group began to minister to the poor and the sick in the local area.][
Barbieri died due to ]tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in 1870. Her religious order operates in places such as Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and in 2008 there were 296 religious houses in 36 different communities.[
]
The voice
Barbieri's death soon resulted in an unusual and unexplained occurrence that has often been reported in the various parishes that she visited and in the houses in which her order is located. Her voice is often heard during scriptural readings and songs and this voice never speaks alone but is heard as part of a group.[ People from various backgrounds have reported hearing the voice which is described to be unlike any they have ever heard. The first reported occurrence happened in 1871 when the sisters of her congregation were in their usual evening meditation.
]
Sainthood
The informative and apostolic processes for the beatification all occurred in Bologna before the theologians collated and inspected her spiritual writings while confirming on 2 April 1935 that such writings did not contravene official doctrine; the formal introduction to the cause came under Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
on 15 March 1930 and Barbieri was titled as a Servant of God
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...
as a result. The confirmation of her life of heroic virtue
Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...
on 22 February 1955 allowed for Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
to name her as Venerable
The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism.
Christianity
Cathol ...
while the confirmation of two miracles attributed to her intercession allowed for Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
to celebrate her beatification in Saint Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
on 27 October 1968.Solenne beatificazione di Clelie Barbieri
vatican.va, article in Italian
The third miracle – definitive for her eventual canonization – was investigated in its place of origin and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...
validated this diocesan process after it was held on 18 April 1986 while medical experts approved this miracle on 23 March 1988 as did theologians on 17 June 1988; the C.C.S. met and also assented to it on 6 December 1988 while Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
issued definitive approval to it on 11 February 1989. John Paul II canonized Barbieri as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 9 April 1989 in Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...
.
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Hagiography Circle
Saints.SQPN
Santi e Beati
Katolsk.no
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbieri, Clelia
1847 births
1870 deaths
19th-century Christian saints
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
19th-century venerated Christians
19th-century Italian people
19th-century Italian women
Beatifications by Pope Paul VI
Canonizations by Pope John Paul II
Christian female saints of the Late Modern era
Founders of Catholic religious communities
Italian Roman Catholic saints
Tuberculosis deaths in Italy
People from Bologna
Venerated Catholics
Infectious disease deaths in Emilia-Romagna