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Blessed Luigi Biraghi

28 May
11 August on some calendars

Profile

The fifth of eight children. Entered the Minor Seminary of Castello sopra Lecco, Italy at age 12; studied in the Major Seminaries of Monza and Milan in Italy. Ordained in the archdiocese of Milan, Italy on 28 May 1825. Taught in the seminaries of Castello sopra Lecco, Seveso and Monza. A highly educated and cultured man with deep knowledge of the early Church fathers and archeology. Spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Milan in 1833.

With the help of Mother Mariana Videmari, in 1836 Father Biraghi founded the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Marcellina (Marcellina Sisters) at Cernusco sul Naviglio; the Institute requires fidelity to the faith in daily life by its members, and established schools for girls, both the nobility who could pay for it, and the poor who were not required. Named a doctor of the prestigious Biblioteca Ambrosiana in 1855. Honorary canon of the Basilica of Saint Ambrose. In 1862, by the Pope‘s request, he acted as mediator among the clergy of Milan who were split between those who supported a united Italy, and those who sought the return of the Papal States. Vice-Prefect of the Ambrosiana in 1864. Appointed Domestic Prelate to Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1873. Today the Marcellina Sisters continue their good work in Italy, France, Brazil, Switzerland, England, Albania, Canada, and Mexico.

Born

2 November 1801 in Vignate, Milan, Italy

Died

11 August 1879 in Milan, Italy of natural causes
buried in the family grave in Cernusco sul Naviglio, Italy
relics translated to the chapel of the mother-house of the Marcellina Sisters in Cernusco in 1951