Orsola Donati

On May 1, 1868, Orsola Donati, Clelia Barbieri, and two other companions (Teodora Baraldi and Violante Garagnani) settled in the "Casa del Maestro" (House of the Master) in Le Budrie. There, they led a common life of prayer, poverty, and charity, known as the "Ritiro della Provvidenza" (Retreat of Providence). They supported themselves by working as weavers and seamstresses while teaching catechism and helping the sick. However, the young Clelia Barbieri fell seriously ill with tuberculosis. On her deathbed, on July 13, 1870, Clelia explicitly entrusted the leadership of the group to Orsola, then only 21 years old, telling her: "You will be their guide" ("Orsolina, tu farai le mie veci ; non avere paura, non scappare..."). On October 26, 1870, Orsola consecrated herself definitively to the Lord through private vows and took over the spiritual and educational direction of the small community. In 1878, during a pastoral visit, Cardinal Lucido Maria Parocchi, Archbishop of Bologna, suggested that the community take the name "Minime dell'Addolorata" (Minims of Our Lady of Sorrows). The following year, on October 26, 1879, he blessed the new building (the Mother House) constructed to house the nuns. Under the prudent and humble leadership of Mother Orsola, the institute began to develop and open new houses starting in 1882. On March 18, 1897, Mother Orsola and 34 of her companions publicly pronounced their religious vows. In 1905, the Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Domenico Svampa, appointed her Superior General for life. Mother Orsola also had to face trials. Around 1913, the Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Giacomo Della Chiesa (the future Pope Benedict XV), formed a negative opinion of her due to false information. Mother Orsola suffered deeply from this situation but maintained absolute silence, never uttering a word against her archbishop. Touched by her attitude, Cardinal Della Chiesa one day visited Le Budrie unexpectedly to ask for her forgiveness, acknowledging that he had been misinformed. In 1931, Mother Orsola convened the first General Chapter of the congregation, which confirmed her as Superior General for life. The crowning achievement of her work took place in 1934, when the Holy See definitively approved the Constitutions of the Minims of Our Lady of Sorrows. At that time, the institute had 21 houses and 147 nuns, managing girls' schools and conducting educational and catechetical work in the archdioceses of Bologna and Modena. Mother Orsola passed away peacefully on April 8, 1935, at the Mother House in Le Budrie (San Giovanni in Persiceto).

After her death, the reputation for holiness of Mother Orsola Donati continued to grow among the sisters of her congregation and the faithful of the Bologna region. She is considered the institutional co-founder of the institute, the one who knew how to structure and make fruitful the spiritual legacy of Saint Clelia Barbieri. The diocesan process for her beatification was officially opened on February 19, 2000, in Le Budrie, in the parish church of Santa Maria Annunziata, in the presence of Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, Archbishop of Bologna. The diocesan inquiry was solemnly closed on April 6, 2003, in the Cathedral of San Pietro in Bologna. The acts of the process were declared valid by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on January 20, 2006.

On June 19, 2021, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Orsola Donati, thereby conferring upon her the title of Venerable. For Mother Orsola to be declared Blessed, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession is required by the Church.

The spirituality of Mother Orsola Donati is marked by a pure, courageous, and unwavering faith in Divine Providence. Faced with material difficulties and ecclesial misunderstandings, she always knew how to discern the hand of God at work. Her humility was profound; she loved to repeat to her sisters: "Let us become saints in secret" ("Facciamoci sante di nascosto"). Her action was always inscribed in absolute fidelity to the ideal of Saint Clelia Barbieri. She said that all the actions of the sisters should tend toward a single center: God. Today, the Congregation of the Minims of Our Lady of Sorrows continues its work of education, assistance to the sick, the elderly, and the poor, not only in Italy, but also in mission countries such as India and Tanzania.