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Rosa Venerini was born on February 9, 1656 in Viterbo, Papal States, where her father was a physician and mother a homemaker. She had a sister and two brothers.
Rosa received an excellent education, and she had a strong attraction to her Catholic faith even as a child.
When Rosa was twenty, she became engaged to be married. However, when her fiancé died soon after the engagement, Rosa decided to enter the Dominican convent of St. Catherine where one of her aunts was a member. After only a few months in the convent, however, her father died, so she left the convent to take care of her mother. Then, her 27-year-old brother Domenico died, and a few months later, her mother died.
After her sister left the home to get married, 24-year-old Rosa was left with just her brother Orazio in the family home.
To fill her time, Rosa began to invite girls and women into her home to pray the rosary. Immediately, Rosa discovered that the girls and women knew very little about their Catholic faith. In fact, many of them didn’t know the basics of reading and writing. This led Rosa to consider devoting her life to teaching girls and women to better prepare them for a more fulfilling life.
On August 30, 1685, Rosa and two women friends opened the first public school for girls in Italy. Immediately, they encountered resistance from many clergy who thought they had a monopoly on teaching the faith. But soon, pastors began recognizing the positive changes in the students of Rosa and her friends.
One of Rosa’s biggest breakthroughs was when Cardinal Barbarigo, Bishop of Montefiascone, invited Rosa to open schools in his diocese. From 1692 to 1694, Rosa opened ten schools in the diocese, much of the material goods provided by the cardinal. When pastors saw how the cardinal was behind Rosa’s effort, they began clamoring for her to open schools in their parishes.
One of Rosa’s students was Lucia Filippini, who oversaw Rosa’s work in Viterbo while Rosa was working in the Diocese of Montefiascone. Lucia Filippini eventually started her own religious order known as the Religious Teachers Filippini.
In 1713, Rosa was able to open a school in Rome, and in 1716, Pope Clement XI, along with eight cardinals, came to visit Rosa’s work. After observing Rosa in action, he said, “Signora Rosa, you are doing that which we cannot do. We thank you very much, because with these schools you will sanctify Rome.”
Rosa Venerini died on May 7, 1728 in Rome, and her community became known as the Venerini Sisters. The Sisters expanded their work to Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Sister Rosa Venerini on October 15, 2006. Saint Rosa Venerini’s feast day is May 7.
