Rose Venerini followed God's voice, which was speaking to her in the circumstances of her life, and changed the lives of many people through her gifts as an educator.

She was born in 1656 in Viterbo, Italy. When she came of age, she was engaged to a young man, but he died suddenly. She decided to enter the convent, but only stayed there for a few months—her father had died, and she was needed at home to help her mother.

During this time at home, she gathered women from the neighborhood in her house to pray the rosary. She was struck by how little these women knew of their faith, so she began to instruct them. She still had hopes of entering a convent to spend her life in seclusion and prayer, but her spiritual director, who saw her work with the women in the prayer group, encouraged her to explore a vocation in the world as a teacher.

With two others, Rose opened a free school for girls in 1685, and it was a success. She quickly became known for her insights into education, and was invited by a cardinal in the area to give advice on the administration of schools in the diocese and to help train teachers.

Rose was known for her persuasive ways of speaking, and for her responsiveness to any situation. She went on to found more schools, though sometimes she faced fierce resistance. In one instance, opponents shot arrows at teachers and burned their house down. Still, she persevered with patience and trust. At time of her death, 40 schools were under her direction.

After her death, many of the lay teachers who worked in her schools gathered into a religious community, called the Venerini sisters, who worked with Italian immigrants in the U.S.

St. Rose mentored another educational matriarch in Italy, St. Lucy Filippini, whose relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. St. Rose was canonized in 2006 and her image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

St. Rose Venerini, you turned away both the convent and marriage to transform schools--pray for us!