Clotilde Micheli

To avoid an arranged marriage, Clotilde left Trentino for Venice, under the guidance of Msgr. Domenico Agostini, then Padua under that of Msgr. Angelo Piacentini. After an unsuccessful attempt in Castellavazzo, she joined her parents in Germany and worked as a nurse in Eppendorf. Upon returning to Italy, after a pilgrimage to Rome, she settled in Campania. On June 28, 1891, in Casolla, she founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Angels, Adorers of the Most Holy Trinity, taking the name Sister Maria Serafina of the Sacred Heart. The institute expanded with the Lucarelli orphanage in Santa Maria Capua Vetere in 1893, then established itself in Faicchio in 1899.

From the end of 1895, Mother Maria Serafina suffered from a serious physical illness and underwent a delicate operation. She also endured misunderstandings and criticism within her congregation, which she faced with patience and faith. She passed away in Faicchio on March 24, 1911. Her cause for beatification was introduced on July 9, 1990, and she was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on July 3, 2009.

The miracle accepted for her beatification is the instantaneous healing, on November 17, 1999, of Sister Michelina Acocella, who was suffering from dumping syndrome following a major surgical operation. The decree of the miracle was promulgated on July 1, 2010, by Benedict XVI. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on May 28, 2011, in Faicchio, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.

The spirituality of Maria Serafina is Trinitarian, Eucharistic, and Marian, aiming to imitate the perpetual praise of the angels. In 1883, in Eisleben, she received a mystical vision of hell that strengthened her call to humility. The institute received the decree of praise on March 7, 1928, and final approval on June 16, 1936. Today, the Sisters of the Angels work in Italy and in several mission countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Benin, Philippines). Her body rests in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Faicchio.