Born in 1587 in Genoa, the daughter of aristocrats. Her father, who meddled in her life, had been Doge of the Republic.
Newsroom (31/01/2026, Gaudium Press) One of the jewels that most commonly shines among the saints is that of boundless generosity, which transcends the boundaries of the merely human. This is evident in the life of St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli, one of today’s Saints.
She was born on 2 April 1587 in Genoa, the daughter of two aristocrats. Her father had been Doge of the Republic (Genoa was a republic); her mother, Lelia Spinola, gave her a Christian upbringing, together with a tutor.
She wanted to become a nun, but her father almost forced her into marriage, which happened with a young man also from an illustrious family but inclined to gambling and a disorderly life. From that union with Gaspar Grimaldi (the surname is not so unknown…) two daughters were born, Lelia and Isabel.
But God willed that St. Virginia should be widowed at a very young age, only 20 years old. And although her father urged her to remarry – there was no shortage of suitors – she took a vow of perpetual chastity, devoting herself to the education of her daughters, a life of piety and charity.
Meanwhile, Virginia’s father seemed unaware that his daughter was now an adult, and a widow at that, and sought to meddle in all her affairs; but the daughter, now more mature than her father, sought harmony and practiced charity.
The Saint affirms that in 1610, three years after becoming a widow, she began to feel inspired from above to devote herself especially to the care of the poor, and therefore began to devote more time to these tasks.
After her daughters’ marriages, Virginia devoted herself entirely to the care of abandoned children, the elderly and the sick. During the war between the Republic of Genoa and the Duke of Savoy (winter of 1624), unemployment and hunger spread throughout the region, prompting her to first take fifteen abandoned young women into her home, and then all the poor people she could, especially women. One day she began something that would become a habit, which was to go out and look for these women to take them into her home, especially those who were at risk of corruption.
The plague of 1629 increased the opportunities for St. Virginia to exercise her charity. The large number of homeless people moved her to rent the empty convent of Montecalvario, where she went on 14 April 1631 with the women she had taken in. Three years later, the work already had three houses where 300 people were living, who placed themselves under the protection of Our Lady of Refuge.
New change of headquarters
The monastery was offered for sale, but the price was too high, so she purchased two adjoining houses on Carignaro Hill, which were enlarged, and a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Refuge was built there, thus establishing the Mother House of the Work.
In the houses, the St. taught Christian doctrine and trained people in trades with which to earn a living. It was a true school of formation for life.
Between 1644 and 1650, the rule of life for the houses was drawn up:
These were placed under the direction and administration of the Protectors (lay nobles appointed by the Senate of the Republic); a division was established between the ‘daughters’ in habit and the ‘daughters’ without habit; but all were required to live – even if they had not taken vows – like the most observant nuns, in obedience and poverty, working and praying. They must be willing to exercise their apostolate in public hospitals, as if they were bound by a vow. Over time, the Work developed into two religious congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge of Mount Calvary and the Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary.
The Saint herself submitted willingly to the will of the Protectors, as the last of the ‘daughters’.
But not everything was rosy in the emergence of the Work.
St. Virginia had some assistants, ladies from the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy, who abandoned her because they thought the Saint was somewhat reckless in her undertakings. Also, the Protectors who governed the work disavowed her instructions.
However, her moral authority in the city-state continued to grow. She succeeded in having Genoa consecrated to the Virgin Mary. She obtained the establishment of the 40-hour adoration and the preaching of popular missions. She became a sought-after arbitrator to settle disputes between families and even between the Archbishopric and the government of the Republic.
Jesus also desired to offer her numerous gifts of a mystical nature.
She died on 15 December 1651 at the age of 64.
Compiled By Sandra Chisholm With information from El Testigo Fiel
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