BARBIERI, CLELIA MARIA RACHEL, ST.

Co-foundress of the Congregation of Minims of the Sorrowful Mother; b. Le Budrie, San Giovanni, Persiceto

(diocese of Bologna), Emilia, Italy, Feb. 13, 1847; d. Le Budrie, July 13, 1870. Clelia was born into a working class family; the death of her father, Joseph, in 1855 left the family impoverished. Clelia assumed many responsibilities for the household so that her mother, Hyacintha (née Nanett), could support them. At age 14, Clelia became a catechist for her parish. Her pastor, Gaetano Guidi, suggested that she and Teodora Baraldi begin teaching young women secular subjects as well. Barbieri and Baraldi lived with two other friends in a small community called the Retreat of Providence. When she and Orsola Donati founded the Minims (Little Sisters) of Our Lady of Sorrows (1868) under the patronage of St. Francis of Paola, Clelia became the youngest founder in the history of the Church. Clelia's spirituality centered around contemplation of the Blessed Sacrament, which was her "glorious inspiration" (John Paul II). She was subject to mystical experiences and possessed the gift of reading hearts.

Following her sudden death from tuberculosis at age 23, she was buried in the Church of Santa Maria Annunziata in her hometown where she was venerated almost immediately. The Congregation of Minims of the Sorrowful Mother, which was given pontifical status in 1949 and attached to the Servites, has spread throughout Italy and into Tanzania and India where they operate hospitals, nursing homes, and elementary schools, and serve as catechists and catalysts of parochial charitable ministries. Clelia, patroness of those ridiculed for their piety, was beatified Oct. 27, 1968 by Paul VI and canonized April 9, 1989 by John Paul II.

Feast: July 13.

Bibliography: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 60 (1968): 680–684. L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, no. 32 (1968): 2, 8. p. berti, Santa Clelia Barbieri (Milan 1991). l. gherardi, Il sole sugli argini. Testimonianza evangelica della b. Clelia Barbieri (Bologna 1970). g. gusmini, Beata Clelia Barbieri, 4th. ed. (Bari, Italy 1968). c. zappulli, The Power of Goodness: The Life of Blessed Clelia Barbieri (Boston 1980).

[k. i. rabenstein]