Angela Giorgi

On October 18, 1902, Angela entered the Congregation of the Servite Sisters of Mary of the Addolorata of Florence (Suore Serve di Maria Santissima Addolorata di Firenze). She received the religious habit on January 9, 1904, under the name Sister Maria Eleonora of the Holy Magi, in tribute to her benefactress Eleonora Zimmerman, who had helped her prepare her religious trousseau. She took her temporary vows on December 30, 1905, and her perpetual vows on December 30, 1915.

During her early years of religious life, she held various positions within the institute: - In 1906, she was a work mistress (sewing and embroidery) in Campi Bisenzio. - In 1908, she held the same position in Castiglione dei Pepoli, where she became the community superior in August 1913. - From 1917 to 1920, during the First World War, she was appointed superior in Calenzano and also devoted herself to assisting severely wounded war veterans in Florence.

In 1928, she was elected the eleventh Superior General of her congregation, a position she held until 1940. During her tenure, she oversaw the spiritual and material development of the institute. In 1939, she answered the call of Father Amadio Tinti to assist the monastery of Budrio, which was then on the verge of extinction. She sent five young sisters there to care for the elderly nuns and to establish a nursery school (Scuola Materna Sacro Cuore).

After completing her term as Superior General, Mother Maria Eleonora continued to lead a life of prayer and humility within her community. She died on November 6, 1945, in Florence, surrounded by a solid reputation for holiness.

The diocesan process for her beatification opened in Florence on May 28, 1965, and closed on July 7, 1970. In 1969, her remains were transferred from the cemetery to the chapel of the congregation's General House, located on Via Faentina in Florence. The validity of the diocesan process was formally recognized by a decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on March 9, 2001. The Positio on her life and virtues was published in 2006.

On October 9, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

In parallel, a diocesan inquiry into an alleged miracle attributed to her intercession was opened on December 22, 2006, and closed on April 28, 2007. This file is currently under study in Rome to allow for a possible beatification.

The spirituality of Mother Maria Eleonora Giorgi is deeply marked by humility, Marian devotion (particularly towards Our Lady of Sorrows), and charity towards the poor and the sick. Her journey, from her youth as a domestic servant to her role as Superior General, bears witness to a total abandonment to the divine will. She recorded her spiritual reflections in a diary that remains a source of inspiration for her congregation.