Coriano 1824

Maria Elisabetta recognized the will of God in the words of Father Vitale Corbucci, her spiritual director, who assured her that the Lord was calling her in order to entrust her with the mission of giving a “good education to young women,” and he directed her to the Conservatory in Coriano that was opened in 1818 by Father Giacomo Gibellini, the pastor of the nearby village of Montetauro.

Elisabetta was 37 years old when she went to Coriano in the afternoon of April 29, 1824.

The plan of merging the Conservatory of Coriano with the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity, founded in Verona by Saint Maddalena of Canossa, did not materialize.

The bishop of Rimini, His Excellency Ottavio of Conti Zollio, ” called Miss Renzi and entrusted to her the good management of the house where he made her the superior.”

Elisabetta chose for the small community the name of ” The Poor of the Crucified,” and in 1828 wrote some rules for their spiritual and community life, which were compiled in the Rule of the Poor of the Crucified.

In 1830, the Poor of the Crucified, by Pontifical Decree, changed their name to “Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows.”

On August 26, 1839, in the parish church of Coriano, the bishop of Rimini, His Excellency Francesco Gentilini, declared the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows canonically erected. On August 29, 1839, in the parish church, Maria Elisabetta with ten companions received the religious habit and made her first profession.

Later, Mother Elisabetta opened other communities in Sogliano al Rubicone, Roncofreddo, Faenza, Cotignola, Savignano di Romagna and Mondaino.