Luisa Ferrari

The heart of the life and work of Luisa Ferrari lies in the foundation of the Institute of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Incarnate Word.

Starting in 1927, Luisa benefited from the spiritual direction of Father Daniele Coppini da Torricella, a Capuchin priest (now recognized as Venerable). Under his guidance, she matured her project of community consecration. On December 10, 1929, in the oratory of the "Eight Faces" (oratorio delle Otto facce) in Reggio Emilia, Luisa and six companions (including her faithful friends Maria Paola and Margherita Bertolotti) made their first community offering and consecrated themselves to the Lord.

The official birth of the congregation took place one year later, on December 10, 1930, with the departure of three sisters for their first mission in Motta Filocastro (a hamlet in the municipality of Limbadi, in Calabria), at the invitation of the parish priest, Father Achille Fosco, a Conventual Franciscan. The religious, initially called "Spouses of the Word" (Spose del Verbo), settled in extreme poverty and dedicated themselves to the education of children and the assistance of the sick and the elderly. Luisa then took the religious name of Mother Giovanna Francesca dello Spirito Santo (Joan Frances of the Holy Spirit).

The institute developed rapidly and opened new houses in Emilia and Calabria: in Salsomaggiore and Sabbione (1932), in Villarotta (1933), and then in San Giacomo di Roncole (1937) at the request of Father Zeno Saltini. During the Second World War, faced with the dangers of bombing, the community also moved to Valtellina, notably to Sant'Antonio Morignone (1940).

It was in this difficult context that the institute went through a major crisis. Mother Giovanna Francesca, elected Superior General, requested diocesan approval from the Bishop of Como, Msgr. Alessandro Macchi. The latter sent an apostolic visitor, the Jesuit Father Emilio Falcetta, to evaluate the community. Believing that the religious formation was insufficient and that the rules lacked structure, the visitor drafted new constitutions that removed any reference to Franciscan spirituality. He removed Mother Giovanna Francesca from her position as superior and sent her into exile in Mazzo in Valtellina. Faced with this trial, the foundress firmly defended her original charism with her famous declaration: "O Francescana o morta!" (Either Franciscan or dead!).

Thanks to the intervention of the Capuchin fathers Bonaventura da Pavullo and Agatangelo da Lagnasco, the situation was resolved. The institute was officially aggregated to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on February 23, 1946. On July 2, 1947, the congregation received diocesan approval, followed on October 11, 1947, by the proto-decree of praise from the Holy See, which gave it its definitive name of "Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Incarnate Word." Mother Giovanna Francesca made her perpetual profession on October 3, 1947.

In 1948, responding to the invitation of Father Agatangelo da Lagnasco, the institute opened itself to international mission by sending sisters to Uruguay, where the first house was founded in Maldonado in January 1949, followed by that of Fraile Muerto in 1950.

Mother Giovanna Francesca led her religious family as Superior General until 1972. After declining a new election for health reasons, she continued to serve the congregation as "Spiritual Mother," joyfully and lucidly transmitting the values of the Gospel and Franciscan poverty.

She spent the final years of her life at the Generalate house in Fiesole, near Florence, dedicating herself fully to prayer and spiritual offering. She passed away peacefully on the evening of December 21, 1984, at the age of 96, surrounded by her sisters who were reciting the Salve Regina. According to her final wishes, her remains were transferred to Assisi, which she considered the "homeland of the Spirit," and interred in the chapel of the novitiate house (Plantula Mea).

The reputation for holiness of Mother Giovanna Francesca led to the opening of her cause for beatification. The diocesan inquiry took place in the Diocese of Fiesole and concluded solemnly on March 25, 2006. On March 19, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of venerable.

The spirituality of Mother Giovanna Francesca is deeply rooted in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word, lived in the light of the poverty, simplicity, and joy of Saint Francis of Assisi. She conceived each community of her institute as a "living house of Jesus" and a "living incarnation of his presence" in the midst of the world. She recorded her spiritual journey and mystical experiences in an autobiography titled Storia piccolissima. Germe di unità d'amore (A Tiny History. Seed of Unity of Love), written under the obedience of her spiritual director. Another striking aspect of her legacy is her deep spiritual friendship with the Brescian priest Father Pierino Ferrari (1929-2011), founder of the Mamré and Cenacolo communities. Their meeting in 1959 gave rise to a fruitful collaboration for the support of the most fragile people, cancer patients, and the disabled. Today, the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Incarnate Word continue their mission of evangelization and charity in Italy, as well as in Latin America (Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia) and Africa (Central African Republic, Angola).