Mother Clelia was born in Forli, Italy, on March 10, 1861. Over time, she felt more attracted to prayer and less drawn to the kind of life which her father envisioned for her as a member of high society and managing her family’s estate. Clelia recognized that if she followed in her father's footsteps in a brilliant career, she would not be able to fulfill the plan for her own life. Intelligent, gifted and enthusiastic, she generously answered the call of God, and chose the consecrated life.
On May 30, 1894 Mother Clelia founded the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, joining the energy that drove her charismatic zeal to the sizable inheritance left to her by her father and set out to serve the poor and marginalized. At the beginning of 1900 Mother Clelia sent some of her Sisters to the Americas, causing the Congregation to also flourish abroad, notwithstanding problems and difficulties which surfaced at the same time.
In order to accomplish God’s will and to guide her Sisters, Mother Clelia had to face difficult trials, suffer great humiliations and endure untold pains for many years. She lived her life with kindness and humility, accepting the sacrifices that were part of her daily life, and forgiving those who were the cause of her suffering.
Mother Clelia died in Rome on November 21, 1930. Her body was buried in the cemetery at Campo Verano. In 1945 it was exhumed and her body was found to be intact. From there it was then placed in the chapel of the Generalate.
The process for the beatification of Mother Clelia opened in 1988 at the request of the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The inaugural session of the Diocesan Process was celebrated in Rome. At the end of the trial phase in 1998, sixty witnesses from Italy, the United States and Brazil testified to the holiness of Mother Clelia.
On May 21, 1999 with the presentation of a detailed report on behalf of the historical commission, the diocesan phase was concluded and Mother Clelia received the title of "SERVANT OF GOD.”
The Positio is a 1385 page study of the life of Mother Clelia, reporting on her heroic virtue and reputation for holiness and including testimonies, documents and evidence defending her in some critical moments of her life. In 2015, after a thorough study of the Positio, the heroic virtue of Mother Clelia was verified. In December, 2016 Pope Francis signed the decree of heroic virtue and declared Mother Clelia "Venerable.”
On January 27, 2018, the Holy Father signed the decree which recognized the miracle attributed to her, thereby completing the process of beatification. The beatification rite was celebrated on November 3, 2018, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.
