SFORZA, Serafina (Sveva), Blessed. - Poor Clare, b. at Urbino ca. 1434 to Guido duke of Montefeltro, d. at Pesaro in 1478.

Sister of Federico da Montefeltro, in 1448 she was married to Alessandro Sforza, lord of Urbino. During the not infrequent absences of her husband, a collaborator in the various military campaigns of her brother Lodovico il Moro, she bravely bore the responsibility of government. In 1457, Alessandro, to cover up his own infidelities, accused his wife of that same crime, forcing her to shut herself in the local monastery of the Poor Clares. Two years later she took the habit, changing her baptismal name of Sveva to that of Serafina. Having become abbess, she was an example to all in regular observance, piety and charity toward the sick. Her cult was approved by Benedict XIV on 17 July 1754. Feast on 8 September.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Acta SS. Septembris, III, Antwerp 1750, pp. 314-25; G. Felinciangeli, Sulla monucazione di Svecchia Montefeltro S., signora di Pesaro, Ricerche, Pistoia 1903 (cf. F. van Ortruy, review in Anal. Boll., 24 [1905], pp. 311-13); C. Ortolani, Santità francescano-picena, Pesaro 1931, p. 191 ff.

Piero Sannazzaro

@incollection{ec11_sforza_serafina_sveva_beata, author = {Sannazzaro, Piero}, title = {Sforza, serafina (sveva), beata}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {476}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/sforza-serafina-sveva-beata} }

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Sforza, Serafina (Sveva), Blessed

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