Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello was an

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professed religious and the founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence. Frassinello married to appease her parents in 1816 but the couple decided to lead a chaste life and both pursued a call to the religious life with Frassinello joining the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of women that in 1572 branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula. The Ursulines trace their origins to th ...

in Capriolo at

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. But husband and wife later reunited after setting out to establish schools for the education of girls and the pair moved back to

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where she founded her order in 1838 based on the Benedictine charism. Frassinello's beatification was celebrated in 1987 and she was canonized as a saint in 2002.

Life

Benedetta Cambiagio was born on 2 October 1791 in Langasco in

as the last of six children to Giuseppe Cambiagio and Francesca Ghiglione. Due to political discord, the family settled in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

in 1804. In 1811 she had a spiritual experience that gave her a profound desire for a life of

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

and of total consecration to

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. However, in obedience to the wishes of her parents, on 7 February 1816 she married the farmer and

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

Giovanni Battista Frassinello in the Basilica of San Michele. In 1818 the couple decided each to live a celibate life "as brother and sister" more so because he was so impressed with her holiness and her desire for the religious life. The couple took in Benedetta's sister Maria who was suffering from

intestinal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

and whose husband had left her. The pair cared for her until she died in July 1825. Her husband Giovanni Battista entered the

Somaschi Fathers The Somaschi Fathers, also known as the Somascans and officially as the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca (), are a Catholic Church, Catholic order of Cleric regular, Clerics Regular of Pontifical Right for men. It was founded in Italy in th ...

and Benedetta joined the Ursuline congregation at Capriolo after having failed to join the

Capuchin Poor Clares The Capuchin Poor Clares () is a Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women founded in Naples, Italy, in 1538, by Blessed Maria Lorenza Longo. The order still exists and it now has communities in the United States. Members are referre ...

in Genoa. In 1826 she was forced to leave because of ill health and returned to

but had a vision of Girolamo Emiliani who healed her. Once she regained her health - with the approval of the

Bishop of Pavia The Diocese of Pavia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan only since 1817.Somaschi Fathers The Somaschi Fathers, also known as the Somascans and officially as the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca (), are a Catholic Church, Catholic order of Cleric regular, Clerics Regular of Pontifical Right for men. It was founded in Italy in th ...

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and help Benedetta in her

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work. The pair made a vow to remain

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in the hands of Bishop Tosi and then began their common work to promote the human and religious formation of poor and abandoned girls; their educational work proved to be of great benefit to Pavia and a school was opened in 1827. The

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recognized her as a "Promoter of

Public Education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

". Young female volunteers aided her, in due time to whom she them gave a rule of life that later received

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor {{DEFAULTSORT:Cambiagio Frassinello, Benedetta 1791 births 1858 deaths 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Christian female saints of the Late Modern era Founders of Catholic religious communities Italian Roman Catholic saints Religious leaders from Genoa Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II