About Us
Carlo Tancredi and Giulia di Barolo
Though very different in temperament and character, they immediately found themselves in harmony regarding profound values and ideals of life. They were married on 18 August 1806, and from then on without any interruption they began as a young couple their visits to the poor. The affection that they felt for each other became purer and stronger with time, because it was founded on faith and love.
Not having been gifted with children, the couple interpreted this painful situation as the ever providential design of the "inscrutable wisdom of God" and lived a very fruitful spiritual fatherhood and motherhood. The experience of Providence and Mercy, that they had in their personal and conjugal life, led them to open themselves strongly to the reality of their time and to leave a deep mark on the life of the city of Turin.
Giulia dedicated herself in a very particular way to the problem of prisons, visiting the women prisoners and building up personal relationships with them, in order to lead them to the concrete experience of the love of God the Father, who takes care of his creatures. She denounced the sorry state of the prisons to the government and did her best to transform the prison environment from a place of punishment of the condemned into a place of their re-education and redemption. This experience led her to found several institutions and in particular a Religious Congregation of women consisting also of ex- prisoners: the "Penitent Sisters of Saint Mary Magdalene", today known as "Daughters of Jesus the Good Shepherd".
Carlo Tancredi dedicated himself mainly to the education, instruction and formation of children and young people. He held posts of a certain political standing. He was Decurion and Mayor of Turin and made concrete choices in favour of the integral development of his fellow citizens.
In his many initiatives of charity, the little ones occupied a prominent place: for them he instituted in his palace the "Shelter homes" (the first Kindergartens of Piedmont) for the children of poor workers, who otherwise would have been abandoned on the roads. And in 1834, in agreement with his wife, he founded the Sisters of St. Ann, so that they would continue this mission in the Church at the service of the young generations.
Carlo Tancredi died on 4th September 1838 at Chiari (BS), in the arms of his most loving spouse; she outlived him till 19 January 1864, bringing to fulfilment the mission that they had together undertaken in the service of the poorest.
The love of God, on which they had based their life, continues to shine even today through their works. The Process of their Canonization is in course. Therefore it is hoped that Carlo Tancredi and Giulia be proclaimed blessed "together" and "as a couple” become a shining model of sanctity for all families.
Saint Ann
Our Congregation is placed under the protection of St. Ann, the model of mothers and educators.
Saint Ann is the mother of the Virgin Mary and we do not have precise historic information about her.
Her name is derived from the Hebrew word Hannah which means grace. She is not mentioned in the Canonical Gospels; instead the Apocryphal gospels speak about her and in particular the “Protovangelo of Saint James”.
“A tree is known by its fruit” (Mt 12:33). We know the fruit of this ancient plant: the Virgin Mary who, having been preserved from sin since her conception, gave birth to Jesus, thus becoming the “living tabernacle” of the Son of God. From the preciousness and holiness of the fruit, we come to know the greatness of the plant: the saintly parents Joachim and Ann.
Devotion to them first spread in the East. The first manifestation of veneration to St. Ann dates back to the time of Justinian who built a church in her honour at Constantinople around the year 550. In the X century devotion to her spread in the West as well, especially in Northern Europe.
In 1584 Pope Gregory XIII decided to insert the celebration of the feast of St. Ann in the Roman Missal, extending it to the entire Church. The liturgical commemoration of St. Joachim was left aside in the beginning and was later inserted in the calendar on a date different from that of his consort. With the liturgical reform that followed Vatican II, the saintly parents of the Virgin Mary were "reunited" in a single celebration, on 26 July.
St. Ann is considered the Patroness of various arts and trades, for having taught Mary the domestic chores and for having given to the world the "masterpiece" of humanity. Besides, St. Ann is the patroness of grandmothers, mothers, pregnant women and women in labour.
We consider her a woman of faith, a guardian of hope and a mother full of love. We look up to her, who gifted Mary to humanity, as our model, and to her we entrust our mission of accompanying the new generations in their growth towards complete happiness, so that humanity may once again be “immaculate" and the image of God who created us, shine forth in all.
Blessed Enrichetta Dominici
Enrichetta Dominici, in the world, Caterina, was born at Borgo Salsasio Carmagnola (TO), on 10 October 1829. She had a serene infancy, surrounded by the affection of her family members. However, around the year 1833 her father abandoned the family, which then moved to the house of her uncle who was Parish Priest. Such painful events marked her infancy and her adolescence. But Caterina rather than closing in on herself, opened herself to the positivity of life given to her and oriented her heart to God, whom she always called her Good Daddy, and to whom she turned with filial and trusting confidence.