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St.Clelia Barbieri (1847-1870)
Yes, quite right, she is a member of my family. And I am delighted to discover that she is the patron saint of "people ridiculed for their piety". So not only do a lot of my friends have a patron in Heaven - but she is a Barbieri, too! Now there's something to be proud of.
The only photograph of her in existence is genuinely embarrassing. What can I say? The Italian countryside in the nineteenth century was not a focus of good taste. But at least it gives the message very clearly.
When this photo was taken, she was 22, had not yet taken her final vows (as can be seen by the long uncovered hair) and yet had barely one year to live. In her few years, she almost literally moved mountains, setting up a monastic community against the desires of the Italian government (which had dissolved several monastic orders at the same time) and in the face of contempt from her "betters" and hideous humiliations. In 23 years, she managed to do more than most of us will achieve in seventy or eighty. The monastic order she started in a little schoolhouse in a remote village, Budrie, is now spread around the world.
The only photograph of her in existence is genuinely embarrassing. What can I say? The Italian countryside in the nineteenth century was not a focus of good taste. But at least it gives the message very clearly.
When this photo was taken, she was 22, had not yet taken her final vows (as can be seen by the long uncovered hair) and yet had barely one year to live. In her few years, she almost literally moved mountains, setting up a monastic community against the desires of the Italian government (which had dissolved several monastic orders at the same time) and in the face of contempt from her "betters" and hideous humiliations. In 23 years, she managed to do more than most of us will achieve in seventy or eighty. The monastic order she started in a little schoolhouse in a remote village, Budrie, is now spread around the world.