Blessed Antonia Maria Verna
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea
A Short Biography of Blessed Antonia Maria Verna
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea
After a span of one hundred years, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree of beatification of Mother Antonia Maria Verna, Foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea, on Jan. 14, 2011. The Holy Father’s signature advances Mother Antonia closer to sainthood, the process of which was initiated on Aug. 10, 1911.
The Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception have kept Mother Antonia’s charism and mission alive in their service to the people of Westmoreland and Fayette Counties since their arrival to the Diocese of Greensburg on Aug. 19, 1961. The Congregation, also known as the Ivrea Sisters (from the City of Ivrea, Italy, where the Mother House is located), continues to teach students at Verna Montessori School, a private AMI (Association Montessori International) recognized school located in Bullskin Township. The school is affiliated with the Diocese of Greensburg.
Mother Antonia Maria Verna was born on June 12, 1773 in Pasquaro, a village in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, near the province of Turin. She came from a family of modest means and was the oldest of three surviving children. From an early age, when both her parents worked as farmers in the fields, she assumed the responsibility not only of her younger brothers’ welfare but also of those of the neighborhood children, who were left to fend for themselves while their parents worked all day. Antonia taught them catechism and general prayers with a spirit of dedication, generosity and enthusiasm.
At the age of fifteen, she consecrated herself to God. Much to her family’s dismay, Antonia’s mind was fixed on only one thing: to serve our Lord and His people, especially the children, the poor and anyone in need. Finding that her limited education hampered her ability to fulfill God’s work, at the age of thirty, she decided to seek further education. In humility, she went back to school and sat in the same benches as school children did. Her goal was to be able to effectively teach countless more children who did not have basic literacy skills, as well as to provide spiritual nourishment for their souls through the preaching of the Word of God.
In time, she attracted a following of young women who wanted to share her vocation and mission. In 1806, Mother Antonia initiated a petition for the establishment of a new religious order; the arduous process culminated on Nov. 27, 1835, with the approval of her Congregation. The Rule of the Order reveals the great love she had for God and the neediest of His people. She worked tirelessly and gratuitously doing God’s work freely and without any thought of being compensated for her efforts.
A progressive thinker at a time when young girls were relegated to the background and women did not nurse persons of both genders, she cared for the sick, both men and women, and provided girls with literacy skills, catechism, and the practical means to be economically self-sufficient. In time, she opened a school for girls and continued to care for the sick, both at hospitals and at homes.
Mother Antonia’s courage and relentless dedication to her calling was tested in the establishment of her Order. Although her efforts were fraught with setbacks, she persevered, even to the point of separating her group from another Congregation which eventually kept not only her royal approval of May 24, 1817, but also some of her followers.
Starting over, she was determined to stay on the path of her true calling, and eventually she prevailed. On March 7, 1828, Mother Antonia obtained the royal approval of her Order. Shortly after, on June 10, she and her Sisters professed the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. On that occasion, they received, at last, the religious habit and the cross from the Bishop of Ivrea, Monsignor Luigi Pocchettini.
Following the death of the new Order’s spiritual advisor, his successor, Father Marcantonio Durando, perceived similarities between the charism of Mother Antonia’s Order and the French Vincentian Congregation of the Daughters of Charity, which he helped establish in Italy. Unfortunately, he attempted to unify the two orders. During a four-year span, Mother Antonia obeyed in silence even though she knew there were fundamental differences between the Orders. Finally, in January 1835, she wrote a letter asking that she and her Sisters be released from the Vincentian Congregation, so that they would be free to follow their unique charism and vocation. Of the twenty-six Sisters of her Congregation, only eleven and a Postulant remained with her. Only one, out of her five established missions, was left to her: the others passed to the Vincentian Sisters. Again she had to start over!
On November 27, 1835, she and her fellow Sisters received the diocesan approval of her Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception. After three years, Mother Antonia passed away on Dec. 25, 1838. At the time of her death, she was a beloved yet simple and obedient member of the community; her funeral was attended by numerous people of all social classes, but especially the poor, whose lives she touched by her humility, strength of conviction, and love of humanity.
From humble beginnings in Rivarolo, Italy, her Order has grown to have a worldwide presence. Taking the charism of Mother Antonia in their hearts and in their work, her Sisters have established communities in eleven countries, including: Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Lebanon, Libya, Tanzania, Kenya, Israel, Albania, the United States and Turkey. The Order maintains schools, hospitals, and various charitable institutions. Following the footsteps of their Foundress, the Sisters offer their lives up to God in service of His poorest and neediest.
The Vernian Family presently consists of three groups: the Sisters, the Missionaries of Charity (single lay women who take vows) and the Laity. The Sisters and the Laity have taken an active role in the community of Mt. Pleasant through Verna Montessori School and through the active involvement in the religious education and the life of the parish of St. Pius X. The Laity has also directed annual fundraisers to benefit local families and charities.
It is now the Vernian Family’s turn to share the joyful knowledge of its Foundress with the world, through Pope Benedict XVI’s recent approval of the miracle attributed to Mother Antonia Maria Verna. Sister Gaetana Corbella, one of the Sisters of the Congregation, was diagnosed with a grave lung condition. The doctor gave her no hope of recovery; the illness was incurable. However, with the assistance of her Sisters, she continued to pray with fervor to Mother Antonia. Through her intercession, the doctor subsequently found Sr. Gaetana’s lungs to be suddenly cured with no scientific explanation. The miracle attributed to Mother Antonia was thoroughly investigated by medical experts and theologians and the case for the beatification was approved by the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.
On Jan. 14, 2011 (the same day of the approval for Pope John Paul II’s cause of beatification), Pope Benedict XVI signed the document attesting to the miracle attributed to Mother Antonia, which opened the path to her beatification. After waiting for nearly a century for this momentous occasion, the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception are finally celebrating the beatification of their beloved Foundress, Blessed Mother Antonia Maria Verna.
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