Clelia Barbieri

Clelia Barbieri (13 February 1847 – 13 July 1870) was an Italian Catholic and the founder of the Little Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows. She is regarded as the youngest founder of a religious congregation in the history of the Catholic church, as she was just twenty-three when she died. Barbieri declined the married life in her adolescence – even when pressured – in favor of leading a life dedicated to the needs of others; she served as an educator for a while and joined a religious movement which made her a notable figure in her village.

Barbieri's beatification cause was opened on 15 March 1930, progressed with her beatification on 27 October 1968, and culminated with her canonization on 9 April 1989 under Pope John Paul II.

Life Clelia Barbieri was born in the village of Le Budrie, San Giovanni in Persiceto in 1847 to the poor workers Giuseppe Barbieri and Giacinta Nannetti. Barbieri was baptized straight after her birth as "Clelia Rachele Maria". Her father died in 1855 due to a cholera epidemic so she started to work alongside her mother spinning hemp to support her siblings. During this time her mother and Ernestina moved into a house near the local parish church due to her doctor uncle's personal intervention.

Barbieri died due to tuberculosis in 1870. Her religious order operates in places such as Tanzania and India and in 2008 there were 296 religious houses in 36 different communities. The confirmation of her life of heroic virtue on 22 February 1955 allowed for Pope Pius XII to name her as venerable, while the confirmation of two miracles attributed to her intercession allowed for Pope Paul VI to celebrate her beatification in Saint Peter's Basilica on 27 October 1968.

A third miracle was investigated in its place of origin and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated this diocesan process after it was held on 18 April 1986 while medical experts approved this miracle on 23 March 1988 as did theologians on 17 June 1988; the ongregation for the Causes of Saints met and also assented to it on 6 December 1988 while Pope John Paul II issued definitive approval to it on 11 February 1989. John Paul II canonized Barbieri on 9 April 1989 in Saint Peter's Square.