St Mary di Rosa

The calendar of saints is full of individuals who, although they might have sacrificed themselves for the sake of their faith, do not come across to the casual observer as being outstandingly “good” people. It is therefore refreshing to learn about a saint of whom this can be said, and one such is Mary di Rosa, who is celebrated on 15^th December.

Born in 1813 to a wealthy family in Brescia, northern Italy, she had a convent education after which she became aware of the atrocious conditions under which women and girls worked in the factories in the city, one of which, because it belonged to her father, had produced the riches of which she was a beneficiary.

She therefore devoted her life to serving the poorest people in her locality, including visiting hospitals and taking care in particular of people who were deaf and dumb.

At the age of 27 she founded a society called the Handmaids of Charity to provide care on a more organised basis and involve other like-minded people in extending her activities.

The order flourished and had plenty of work to do during cholera epidemics and the war between Italy and Austria in 1848-9.

However, Mary was not physically strong and her efforts eventually wore her out. She died in 1855 at the age of only 42. She was beatified in 1940 and canonized in 1954, on both occasions by Pope Pius XII.

© John Welford