Saint Geltrude Caterina Comensoli
Also known as
- Gertrude
- Caterina
Profile
One of a family of eleven children; her father worked an iron forge, and her mother was a seamstress. Caterina joined the Sisters of Charity in Lovere, Bergamo, Italy in 1862, but she became seriously ill and had to return to her family. When recovered, she stayed in lay life, working as a domestic servant for a parish priest in Chiari, Italy, and then for the Countess Fé-Vitali.
In 1878, Caterina made a private vow of chastity, and began teaching children in Capriate San Gervasio, Italy. On 15 December 1882, she founded the Institute of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (Sacramentine Sisters); she took the name Sister Gertrude. Her initial plan was that the Sisters would be devoted to Eucharistic adoration; at the recommendation of Pope Leo XIII, they also worked in the world as teachers of young, factory-working women.
Born
- 18 January 1847 in Biennio, Brescia, Italy as Caterina
- 18 February 1903 in Bergamo, Italy of natural causes
- 26 April 1961 by Pope Blessed John XXIII (decree on heroic virtues)
- 26 April 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
- her canonization miracle involved the cure of 4 year old Vasco Ricchini of life threatening meningitis in 2001 through the prayers of the Sacramentine Sisters for her intercession
MLA Citation
- “Saint Geltrude Caterina Comensoli“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 February 2023. Web. 25 April 2024. <>