MARIA GIUSEPPA ROSSELLO, Saint. - Foundress of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, b. at Albissola Marina (Savona) on 27 May 1811, d. at Savona on 7 Dec. 1880. She lived for seven years as a domestic servant and nurse-

and at the same time she began to foster virtue and piety among her companions, who called her "the little schoolmistress." In 1837, to comply with the wish of her bishop, Agostino M. de Mari, she gathered some companion friends and opened two schools at Savona, which were the cradle of the new institute. On 22 Oct. 1837 they together took the habit; on 2 Aug. 1839 they made their vows; in 1840 R. took over for forty years the direction of her religious family, ever growing in number and in institutions in Italy and in America. She also devoted herself to the organization of a small diocesan seminary and helped Fr. G. B. Olivieri and Biagio Verri in the work of ransoming the little slaves of the African coast.

She was beatified on 6 Nov. 1938; canonized on 12 June 1949. Feast on 7 Dec.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: L. Traverso, Vita e virtù della serva di Dio M. G. R., Milan 1934; S. P. Delfino, La b. M. G. R., Turin 1938; A. Oddone, La b. M. G. R., Rome 1938; 2nd ed. ibid. 1949.

Celestino Testore

@incollection{ec8_maria_giuseppa_rossello_santa, author = {Testore, Celestino}, title = {Maria Giuseppa Rossello, santa}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {136}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/maria-giuseppa-rossello-santa} }

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Maria Giuseppa Rossello, Saint

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