March 21

Italian. 1791-1858

Benedicta received the jewel of good Christian formation from her devout parents. Always a devoted youngster, she received the gift of a profound mystical experience at age twenty, which left her with the desire to pursue a vocation as a religious. However, her parents preferred strongly that she marry. Benedicta bowed to their wishes, and married Giovanni Frassinello, in 1816. They lived together for two years as man and wife. In 1818, the couple agreed to live together chastely, dedicated to God. At this same time, they took Benedicta's younger sister Martha into their home to nurse her through her final fight with cancer. When Martha died, in 1825, the two entered religious orders, Benedicta joining the Ursuline Congregation, and Giovanni the order founded by St Jerome Emiliani.

Eventually, Benedicta was able to found the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence. The guiding charism of her order is their focus on the education of young girls and confidence in and abandonment to God in the living out of their vows. After correctly predicting the time of her death, Benedicta died peacefully in Ronco Scrivia at her motherhouse, on March 21 1858. St. Benedicta, pray for us!