Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 and founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence. She is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

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Biography

Frassinello was born on October 2, 1791 in Langasco, an inland village of Genoa. Her father, Joseph and mother Frances , were farmers and had five children. The family moved to Pavia when she was 13 years old. It was during this time that she began to read biographies of saints and Christian doctrine.

She married Giovanni Frassinello in 1816. The marriage lasted two years when Giovanni, moved by the works of Benedetta, agreed that the two should be chaste and live together "as brother and sister".
They cared for Benedetta's younger sister, Maria, who was dying of intestinal cancer.

When Maria eventually died in 1825, Giovanni became a priest in while Benedetta joined the Ursuline Congregation of Capriolo. After recovering from an illness, she began to educate young girls as well as ministry to the poor. Along with the help of Giovanni, they began to reach out to the abandoned girls in Pavia.

Benedetta eventually founded the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence whose main priority is the education of young girls. Today, the order can be found in Italy, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

, Ivory Coast, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

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She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 19 May 2002.