Assunta Marchetti

Upon arriving in Brazil, the community established itself in São Paulo and took charge of the Cristóvão Colombo orphanage in the Vila Prudente district. In 1896, her brother Giuseppe died of typhus at the age of 26. At only 25 years old, Mother Assunta assumed the direction of the orphanage and guided the community. She devoted herself entirely to the orphans, serving as cook, nurse, and administrator. She expanded her work in the states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul by opening schools, hospitals, and shelters. She served as Superior General for two terms. Seriously injured in the leg during a visit to a sick person, she endured intense physical suffering with patience. She passed away on July 1, 1948, at the Vila Prudente orphanage.

The reputation for holiness of Mother Assunta Marchetti spread rapidly after her death in Brazil and Italy. The beatification process officially opened on June 12, 1987, under the pontificate of John Paul II, with the opening of the diocesan inquiry in São Paulo by Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns. This inquiry closed on October 25, 1991, and its validity was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on December 17, 1993. The Positio was published in 2004. After an in-depth examination of her virtues, Pope Benedict XVI authorized, on December 19, 2011, the promulgation of the decree recognizing her heroic virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The miracle required for her beatification concerns the unexplained healing of a Brazilian patient that occurred in 1994 at the Mãe de Deus Hospital in Porto Alegre. This 45-year-old civil engineer had suffered a prolonged cardiac arrest of more than 15 minutes without cerebral oxygenation. Faced with this desperate situation, the religious sisters prayed and asked for the intercession of Mother Assunta Marchetti. The patient recovered suddenly, completely, and without any neurological sequelae. After the approval of medical experts and theologians, Pope Francis signed the decree authenticating this miracle on October 9, 2013. The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on October 25, 2014, in the Metropolitan Cathedral of São Paulo, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, representing Pope Francis.

The spirituality of Blessed Assunta Marchetti is deeply Eucharistic and Marian, centered on the Heart of Jesus and a confident abandonment to Divine Providence. Her motto, shared with her congregation, was: "To do the will of God!". Her legacy continues through the Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians), who are present today in many countries around the world. Faithful to the charism of their founders, they continue to dedicate themselves to the pastoral, social, and spiritual service of migrants, refugees, orphans, and the most vulnerable people in society.