St. Paula Frassinetti

Welcome to INSPIRING LIVES, a series on the lives of Saints in the catholic church from around the world. In this series we bring you those saints who are canonized by Pope John Paul II. Saints are holy people who lived ordinary lives in extraordinary ways. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. These saints are examples of great holiness and virtue, and they invite us to follow their paths to holiness. Their unique stories inspire us to be rooted in our faith. God calls each one of us to be a saint.
Today we listen to the heroic life of St. Paula Frassinetti (1809-1882) . She was canonized on 11 March 1984 in Rome. She once said, ‘Our Lord wills that you cling to Him alone! When Paula died at the age of 73, following a series of strokes, her last words were addressed to Our Lady: " My Mother, remember I am your child ".
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Paula was born on 3^rd March 1809. She was the only daughter and the third of the five children born to John and Angela Frassinetti in Genoa, Italy. Paula was baptized on the same day in the Parish church of St. Stephan. The family was truly holy and she became the foundress of a religious Institute and all her 4 brothers became priests.
Her mother Angela was a model of virtue, and she helped little Paula to open herself to divine grace. But Paula's mother dies when she is only nine years old and little Paula embraces the Blessed Mother as her new mother. Soon, an aunt moves in with the family to run the household, but she too, dies, after three years and, at the age of 12, Paula assumes the responsibility, mothering all four of her brothers. And she spared no time and effort to give her father and her brothers, that loving attention which was the fruit of many sacrifices.
Within the family circle she learns to read and write. She attends daily Mass and prays constantly. Her first Holy Communion and her brother Giuseppe's ordination are moments of deep reflection for this young girl who, in the depth of her heart, already hears a divine call. Her brother Giuseppe, a student of theology, speaks to her about the things of God, and Paula begins to recognize her call to religious life. But her father is not very enthusiastic. So Paula tries to silence her desire and awaits God's own time.
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God’s ways are at times mysterious. At the tender age of 19, Paula finds herself physically worn out due to strenuous family responsibilities as a precocious mother. Her priest-brother, Father Giuseppe, a parish priest at Quinto, a small seaside village in Liguria, offers her hospitality to recover.
The pure air of Quinto proves beneficial to her delicate health. Parish life affords her the opportunity for doing good, and as, little by little, her gentle ways attract the youth of the neighborhood. Every Sunday they take long walk together in the woods to speak of the things of God, and soon other girls join the group. Paula tells them the secrets of a life completely dedicated to the Lord, and in the process, she discovers her vocation as an educator. Gradually an enthusiastic group of young women, forms around Paula. The idea of a new religious Institute springs up in her mind, and she confides it to her brother, Father Giuseppe.
Her idea soon becomes a reality. In 1934, she and six other young women began to live in community, working at night to make money and educating very poor children by day. Her goal was to bring young people to God through education.
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On 12 August 1834, in the sanctuary of St. Martin in Albaro, seven young women dedicate their lives to God. Father Giuseppe, who had prepared them for this important step, celebrates Mass for them. They are happy, for within a few hours they will have laid the foundation of the Institute by starting to live in community, placing their trust in God alone. In fact they possess nothing, even the little house they have chosen to live in has only poverty.
They open a school for very poor children and are obliged to work even at night in order to survive. Their great enthusiasm causes the school to flourish. But soon Cholera breaks out and rapidly spreads in Genoa, taking Paula's daughters to the needy for help and comfort.
In 1835 a priest from Bergamo – Father Luca Passi, a friend of Father Giuseppe – having learned of Paula's apostolic zeal, asks her to assume responsibility for the Pious Work of Saint Dorothy, a project which he had founded with the aim of reaching the poorest and most needy youth. In this project Paula clearly sees the educational trend that will mark her life; in it she will find the apostolic dimension of her consecration.
She takes on the task requested by Father Passi. This led her sisters to be called ‘Sisters of Saint Dorothy.’ It is an important moment for the members of that first group. Their initial inspiration now becomes more concrete: ‘To be fully available in the hands of God to evangelize through education, with a preference for youth and the poorest.’
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On May 19, 1841 – just seven years after the foundation of the Institute – Paula arrives in Rome accompanied by two novices. Her first house in Rome comprises two rooms above a stable at the Vicolo SS. Apostoli. But a great reward awaits her: she is received in audience by Pope Gregory XVI, who is pleased with the work of the Sisters of St. Dorothy. However, hardships and sufferings increase; poverty and sickness afflict the brave sisters, even not having money to buy medicines.
In 1844 the Pope entrusts Paula with the direction of the Conservatory of S. Maria del Rifugio at S. Onofrio. By her gentleness and charity she transforms the place. Onofrio becomes the Mother House of the Dorotheans. In 1846 a anticlerical spirit spreads throughout Italy. In Genoa even the Dorotheans are singled out, and the daughters of Paula are exposed to much suffering.
Persecution also reaches Rome: Pius IX, who has succeeded Gregory XVI, is obliged to take refuge at Gaeta, and Cardinals, Bishops, and Prelates all leave the city. Paula remains alone at the head of a numerous community, and faces the crisis. Gradually the storm calms down. It is 1850, and Paula obtains an audience with Pius IX. Moved by a great love for the Pope and for the Church, she makes her journey to Gaeta.
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Paula spends her last thirty years of life consolidating her institute in Liguria and Rome, and expanding its work to other parts of Italy and beyond. New houses, boarding schools, and orphanages are established. In 1866 her first missionaries leave for Brazil, and Portugal. Paula sustains her daughters saying "Be burning flames that ignite with God's love all those whom you come into contact with."
Difficulties cannot bar the path of saints. Paula lives in complete abandonment to the Will of God, which is, as she says, "the sole gem we must seek." 1878 marks the death of Pius IX, the Pope who esteemed her apostolic work.
Paula soon feels that her earthly days are coming to a close. It is the dawn of June 11, 1882. She is serene, and her passing is tranquil, thus revealing the richness of her life. She invokes the Blessed Virgin saying "My Mother, remember I am your child."
Over a century later, on 11 March 1984, the bells of Saint Peter's ring out again to announce that Paula is a Saint. St. Paula is the patron of sick people. Her incorrupt body is entombed at Saint Onofria, the Dorothean motherhouse in Rome.
Today St. Paula lives on in the deep spirit that animates the Congregation, which is "to seek always and in all things the greater glory of God through a greater service of humanity." Her sisters teach in Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia.P.J. Joseph SJ