Clelia Barbieri was an Italian Catholic and the founder of the Little Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows. She is regarded as the youngest founder of a religious congregation in the history of the Catholic church, as she was just twenty-three when she died. Barbieri declined the married life in her adolescence – even when pressured – in favor of leading a life dedicated to the needs of others; she served as an educator for a while and joined a religious movement which made her a notable figure in her village.

July 13

1847-02-13

1870-07-13

Canonized

9 April 1989

Pope John Paul II

7

Q455206

13