May 6: Blessed Anna Rosa Gattorno

The Discovery of God’s Love

Wife, mother, widow, and founder of a religious congregation—this is the life journey of Anna Rosa Gattorno, born Rosa Maria Benedetta. She was born in Genoa on October 14, 1831, into a well-off family of shipowners, and received a Christian upbringing. According to the customs of high social classes at the time, she was educated at home. Very intelligent and eager to learn new things, she would entertain guests by playing the piano and singing.

In 1852, she married her cousin Girolamo Custo and moved to Marseille. Due to financial difficulties and the death of her husband in 1858, she was forced to return to Genoa. Her trials were not yet over: after an illness, her eldest daughter became deaf-mute, and her youngest child died.

Widowed, she devoted herself to works of charity and prayer, placing Christ at the center of her life. The discovery of God’s love, together with her suffering, nurtured in her the desire to consecrate herself to the Lord. She wished to become a “spokesperson of Jesus,” bringing the message of salvation to all humanity. In particular, she offered sacrifices and prayers for the conversion of sinners and the sanctification of all.

At that time, she took vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty, becoming a Franciscan tertiary. She dedicated herself to caring for the sick in hospitals and in their homes, never neglecting her role as a mother.

Encouraged by Pope Pius IX, on December 8, 1866, she founded in Piacenza the Institute of the Daughters of Saint Anne, to assist those living in material and spiritual poverty, such as the sick, orphans, people with disabilities, and abandoned children. Soon, the Institute embraced a missionary vocation, expanding to other continents. Pius IX had foretold to Anna Rosa: “Your Institute will quickly spread throughout the world.”

She died in Rome on May 6, 1900. Pope John Paul II proclaimed her Blessed on April 9 of the Jubilee Year 2000.