Elisabetta Vendramini

In Padua, Elisabetta met Father Luigi Maran and conceived the project of founding a community of Franciscan tertiaries. On November 10, 1828, she moved with Felicita Rubotto and Maria Chiara Der into a dilapidated attic on the Via degli Sbirri, thus founding the Franciscan Tertiary Elizabethan Sisters. They opened a free school for poor young girls. Elected Superior General in 1833, Elisabetta diversified the institute's activities: service at the Casa d'Industria (1834), care for the orphans of the Ricovero Beato Pellegrino (1836), opening of the first nursery school in Padua (1846), expansion to Venice (1850, 1859), and assistance to the sick and blind children.

Elisabetta led a life of intense prayer and heroic charity. Toward the end of her life, her health deteriorated severely: she suffered from a painful eye disease and severe deforming arthritis that forced her to move about in a wheelchair. She passed away on April 2, 1860, in Padua at the age of 69. Her funeral drew a huge crowd. Buried in the main cemetery of Padua, her remains were transferred to a common grave in 1872 during a restructuring, making the identification of her relics impossible.

The diocesan informative process opened in Padua in 1938 and closed in 1947. On February 18, 1989, Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic nature of her virtues, declaring her Venerable. After the validation of a miracle attributed to her intercession in 1989, Elisabetta Vendramini was solemnly proclaimed Blessed by Pope John Paul II on November 4, 1990, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. Her liturgical feast is set for April 2 in the Roman Martyrology.

Elisabetta's spirituality is rooted in the Franciscan charism, marked by the contemplation of the poor and crucified Christ, the love of poverty, and abandonment to Providence. She left behind several writings, including her Diario, her Memorie, and her Istruzioni. Her legacy continues through the Franciscan Elizabethan Sisters who, today, pursue their mission of assistance in Italy, as well as in Egypt, Ecuador, Kenya, Argentina, Israel, and Sudan.