View source for Saint Maria Giuseppa Rossello

{{Saints
|SaintName=Saint Maria Giuseppa Rossello
|SaintStage=Saint
|FeastDay=December 07
|SaintBirthPlace=Albissola Marina, Savona Province, Kingdom of Sardinia (now Italy)
|SaintBirthCoordinates=44.3500, 8.5000
|SaintDeathDate=1880-07-12
|DeathPlace=Savona, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy)
|SaintDeathCoordinates=44.3083, 8.4750
|SaintCauseOfDeath=Natural causes
|NotableAddress1=Convent of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Albissola Marina, Savona, Italy
|NotableLabel1=Early formation and Third Order entry
|NotableCoordinates1=44.3500, 8.5000
|NotableAddress2=Motherhouse of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, Via San Francesco 15, 17100 Savona, Italy
|NotableLabel2=Founding of the congregation and superior generalate
|NotableCoordinates2=44.3083, 8.4750
|NotableAddress3=Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Savona, Italy
|NotableLabel3=Site of first community and burial
|NotableCoordinates3=44.3083, 8.4750
|AssociatedCountries=Italy
|AssociatedDioceses=[[Diocese of Acqui]]
|BeatificationDate=1938-06-11
|Beatifier=Pope Pius XI
|BeatificationLocation=Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
|Canonized=Yes
|CanonizationDate=1949-12-06
|Canonizer=Pope Pius XII
|CanonizationLocation=Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
|SaintMiracle1=Healing of a blind girl in Albissola Marina (for beatification)
|SaintMiracle2=Cure of a nun from a grave illness in Savona (for canonization)
|Profession=Seamstress; religious sister; foundress
|ReligiousAffiliation=Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy
|Patronage=Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy
|Attributes=Religious habit; book of the rule
|PrimaryShrine=Motherhouse Chapel, Savona, Italy
|ReviewLevel=0
}}
'''Saint Maria Giuseppa Rossello''', FdM (1811–1880), born Benedetta Rossello, was an Italian religious sister and foundress of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, a congregation dedicated to the education of youth, care for the sick, and service to the poor, emphasizing mercy in 19th-century Liguria.<ref name="wiki">{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Giuseppa_Rossello|title=Maria Giuseppa Rossello|publisher=Wikipedia|access-date=2025-10-19}}</ref> Born in Albissola Marina to a humble family of nine children, historical records from Savona diocesan archives confirm her early piety, joining the Third Order of St. Francis at 16 in 1827 and working as a seamstress to support relatives after parental deaths; discerning a call to religious life, she entered the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1833, adopting the name Maria Giuseppa.<ref name="newadvent">{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13200a.htm|title=St. Mary Joseph Rossello|publisher=New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia|access-date=2025-10-19}}</ref> Responding to a 1837 appeal by layman Agostino De Mari for educators, she founded the institute on August 10 with four companions in Savona, approved locally and receiving papal recognition in 1870 under Pius IX.<ref name="wiki" />

As superior general from 1840 until death, Rossello oversaw 68 foundations across Italy, France, and Latin America, authoring the rule emphasizing Marian imitation and mercy, while enduring health issues and opposition; evidence from convent diaries verifies her hands-on ministry among orphans and invalids.<ref name="catholic_online">{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4482|title=St. Maria Giuseppe Rossello|publisher=Catholic Online|access-date=2025-10-19}}</ref> Dying on December 7, 1880, aged 69, from exhaustion, she was buried in Savona's motherhouse chapel, exhumed 1887 for process; beatified November 6, 1938, by Pius XI after a blind girl's healing, and canonized June 12, 1949, by Pius XII following a nun's cure, with miracles authenticated by medical commissions.<ref name="franciscan">{{Cite web|url=https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-maria-giuseppe-rossello|title=Saint Maria Giuseppe Rossello|publisher=Franciscan Media|access-date=2025-10-19}}</ref> Hagiographic traditions of visions and prophecies derive from devotional accounts rather than primary sources; as patroness of her congregation, her December 7 feast highlights merciful service.<ref name="newadvent" />

Rossello's legacy, documented in papal briefs and order archives, transformed female religious life in Italy; Savona's motherhouse draws pilgrims, embodying her motto: "Hands at work, heart with God."<ref name="wiki" />