Clorinda Letizia Formai

During her convalescence in Casciana, Sister Serafina was deeply touched by the spiritual, moral, and material distress of the inhabitants of this mountainous region of Lunigiana, which was particularly marked by poverty and the rise of communist influence after the First World War. She strove to bring souls back to the faith by going from house to house to collect funds to erect a monument to the Sacred Heart and by founding a Catholic Circle. Understanding that the needs of rural and mountainous areas required specific missionary action, she felt the call to found a new religious family. In 1932, with the authorization of her superiors, she left the Calasanzian Sisters to give birth to the congregation of the Rural Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Good Counsel (Suore Missionarie Rurali del Buon Consiglio). In 1933, the small community established itself in Filattiera, where it took charge of managing a nursery school. On January 31, 1934, the Bishop of Pontremoli, Msgr. Giovanni Sismondo, approved the regulations of the new congregation. On August 15, 1934, Sister Serafina made her religious profession according to this new rule. In 1937, the community transferred its motherhouse to Pontremoli. The institute developed and received canonical erection of diocesan right on February 2, 1949, by Msgr. Sismondo. On April 26 of the same year, Mother Serafina was officially recognized as founder and superior general. During the Holy Year of 1950, she made a pilgrimage to Rome and obtained from Pope Pius XII the authorization to open a house in the disadvantaged suburbs of the Italian capital. The congregation would later, on November 20, 1972, take the name of Missionary Sisters of the Joyful Message (also called Missionary Sisters of the Good News or the Joyful Message, in Italian Suore Missionarie del Lieto Messaggio). It received the decree of praise of pontifical right on July 16, 1974, under the pontificate of Paul VI. The sisters are mainly dedicated to the education of poor youth, assistance to families in rural and mountainous areas, and home care for the sick.

Mother Serafina Formai passed away on June 1, 1954, at the motherhouse in Pontremoli, after a few days of hospitalization, surrounded by her religious sisters whom she affectionately called her "ninine." She was initially buried in the Pontremoli cemetery. Due to her growing reputation for holiness, her mortal remains were exhumed on October 24, 2006, and transferred two days later to the chapel of the congregation's generalate in Pontremoli. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially opened at the diocesan level on September 4, 2005, in the Diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli, following the receipt of the nihil obstat from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The diocesan inquiry concluded on June 1, 2008, and its validity was decreed by Rome on May 29, 2009. The Positio super virtutibus was submitted in September 2012.

On January 10, 2017, the theological consultants of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a favorable opinion on the heroicity of her virtues, followed by the positive opinion of the cardinals and bishops who are members of the dicastery on February 5, 2019. On February 12, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Serafina Formai, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable. For her beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession is required.

The spirituality of Mother Serafina Formai is deeply rooted in the contemplation of the Heart of Jesus and in a filial devotion to the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel. In 1903, she offered herself to the Sacred Heart as a "wall of protection" to make reparation for the offenses of sinners. Her life was characterized by a total abandonment to Divine Providence, a profound humility, and a joyful acceptance of her physical and moral sufferings, which she offered out of love for the salvation of souls. Today, the legacy of the Venerable Serafina Formai is perpetuated through the action of the Missionary Sisters of the Sweet Message. Although modest in size, the congregation continues its work of evangelization and charity not only in Italy (notably in Tuscany and Veneto), but has also opened itself to missions abroad, particularly in Africa (Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo) and South America (Brazil, Argentina), where the sisters work with the most destitute, the sick, and children.