Saint Magdalene of Canossa

Life story

Magdalene was born in Verona in March 1774 into a family of marquises. Her father, Marquis Ottavio, died in 1779; her mother, a Hungarian countess, remarried a few years later, and Magdalene grew up under the guardianship of her uncle Girolamo. In 1791 she turned to a Carmelite convent but did not stay, returning home to manage the family estate while keeping up her concern for the poor.

On 1 April 1808 she took over an abandoned convent in Verona and received two poor girls there. She left the Canossa palace to live with her companions in the San Zeno district, a poor quarter, and called them the Daughters of Charity. Their work was teaching and helping abandoned girls and caring for the sick.

From Verona the community opened houses in Venice, Milan, Bergamo and Trent. The Holy See approved its rule in 1828. A male branch, the Sons of Charity, also grew out of her initiative; she began its first oratory in Venice on 23 May 1831.

Magdalene died in Verona on 10 April 1835. She was beatified on 7 December 1941 and canonised by Pope John Paul II on 2 October 1988.

Works and witness

• Founded the Daughters of Charity community in Verona in 1808
• Opened houses and schools for poor children in Venice, Milan, Bergamo and Trent
• Rule approved by the Holy See in 1828
• Beatified 1941, canonised 1988

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Catholic Ireland, profile of Saint Magdalene of Canossa (catholicireland.net)
• Canossian-run school and diocesan pages on the foundress (stanthonyscanossianpri.moe.edu.sg; relic.catholic.org.hk)
• Vatican, biography of Magdalene of Canossa for her canonization of 2 October 1988 (vatican.va, liturgy/saints)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.