MAESTRE PIE FILIPPINI. - In 1692 Cardinal M. A. Barbarigo, bishop of Montefiascone, summoned from nearby Viterbo the Venerable Rosa Venerini (v.) to establish in his city a school of the type founded by her in Viterbo. Within a short time Venerini opened as many as 10 schools in various towns of the diocese, and she also concerned herself with the training of teachers for the continuation of the work. At Montefiascone she met St. Lucia Filippini (v.), a young pupil of the monastery of St. Clare, whom Barbarigo placed in charge of the schools opened by Venerini, who had returned to Viterbo after two years.
The direction of these schools always remained in the hands of Cardinal Barbarigo, as an institution proper to his diocese. The cardinal never permitted foundations to be accepted outside his territory. He himself dictated their rules and prescribed their habit. Thus this Institute, although it had a character identical to that of the Maestre Pie of Viterbo, was from the beginning a distinct institution, so much so that the teachers were called Maestre Pie of Cardinal Barbarigo, or Maestre Pie Operaie, because they were under the didactic and spiritual guidance of the Pii Operai. The present name dates back to the early years of the last century.
After Barbarigo's death the Institute was able to cross the boundaries of the diocese, and schools were opened in various towns of the Papal State, in Tuscany and in the Kingdom of Naples, with a vigorous revival of spiritual life among the young.
In 1707 the apostolic almoner Monsignor A. Bonaventura established for the Maestre Pie of Montefiascone a school in Rome near S. Lorenzo ai Monti, which was followed by ten others. Within a short time the apostolic almoner became the superior of the schools and of the Maestre Pie, while the houses of Montefiascone continued to remain under the guidance of the bishop. By a brief of Leo XII of 3 March 1828 the houses existing outside Rome were subjected to their respective Ordinaries, while the Maestre Pie of Rome remained under the government of the secret almoner; but Leo XIII on 21 March 1896 united the M. P. F. under a single superior general residing in Rome, dependent on the apostolic almoner. Those of the diocese of Montefiascone did not accept this fusion and continued to remain independent; by episcopal decree of 20 July 1926 they were recognized as a diocesan Congregation, though in intimate spiritual communion with the rest of the Institute, which today numbers over 1000 teachers in 100 houses and is distributed in two provinces: Italy and the United States in the State of New Jersey.
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Silverio Mattei