Giustina Schiapparoli

Upon their return to Voghera, the Schiapparoli sisters did not limit themselves to caring for their relatives. Sensitive to the social misery of their time, marked by the begging and vagrancy of children, they decided to act. In their father's house, they opened a small sewing and embroidery school for the young girls of the city. There, they also taught catechism, reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Quickly, they began to welcome poor, orphaned, or abandoned young girls into their home to protect them from marginalization and the dangers of the street. To provide for their needs and those of the children without resorting to begging (contrary to the custom of the time), the sisters did needlework for the local collegiate church of San Lorenzo and for the canons.

In 1849, this private work gave birth to a new religious family: the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence (Suore Benedettine della Divina Provvidenza). In 1850, the Bishop of Tortona, Msgr. Giovanni Negri, granted his diocesan approval to the institute.

The institute developed rapidly. Giustina Schiapparoli, endowed with a strong organizational temperament and deep wisdom, assumed the role of superior of the community. She drafted the first constitutions of the congregation with the help of the Olivetan abbot Placido Lugano. Under her leadership, new houses were opened to welcome ever more children.

Giustina Schiapparoli died almost suddenly from pulmonary congestion on November 30, 1877, in Voghera. After her death, her sister Maria succeeded her briefly before retiring to Vespolate, where she passed away in turn in 1882.

The cause for the beatification of Giustina Schiapparoli was introduced jointly with that of her sister Maria. The diocesan process allowed for the collection of testimonies regarding the heroic nature of her virtues and her reputation for holiness, which remains particularly vibrant in Voghera and within her religious family.

On March 6, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thereby conferring upon her the title of Venerable. Her sister Maria was declared Venerable by the same decree.

As a venerable, Giustina Schiapparoli has reached a major milestone toward canonization. For her beatification to be pronounced, a miracle attributed to her intercession must be formally recognized by the Holy See following a rigorous scientific and theological investigation. To date, no miracle has yet been officially approved.

The spirituality of Giustina Schiapparoli is characterized by humility, simplicity, silence, and an absolute abandonment to Divine Providence. She lived her faith in an essential way, punctuated by daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and the recitation of the Rosary. Although the institute originally bore the name "Benedictines" in reference to their formator Saint Benedetta Cambiagio, the congregation developed over time a deep devotion to Saint Benedict of Nursia, adopting his rule of life summarized by the formula Ora et labora (Pray and work).

Today, the legacy of the Schiapparoli sisters continues throughout the world. The Congregation of the Benedictines of Divine Providence, whose motherhouse is located in Rome, continues its mission of education and assistance to disadvantaged youth. The religious sisters are active in many countries, notably in Italy, Albania, Romania, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau.