Rose Venerini
Saint and educational pioneer
Feast: 7 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Rosa Venerini was born at Viterbo on 9 February 1656, daughter of a doctor at the city's main hospital. Her brother Domenico died at 27 and her mother soon after, overcome by grief.
Wanting to do something great for God, in May 1684 she began gathering girls and women of the neighbourhood in her home to pray the Rosary. She went on to found the Religious Teachers Venerini and opened the first schools in Italy for the education of girls.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A doctor's daughter who opened Italy's first schools for girls.
Connected on this site
- Lucy Filippini Saint“With the assistance of Cardinal Giovanni Francesco Barbarigo, Rose Venerini founded schools for young women, especially the poor, in Viterbo.” — Wikipedia
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Rosa Venerini
- Wikidata Q434886 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Rose Venerini (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.