Antonia Emma Lesino

Although called to the contemplative life, Antonia could not abandon her sick mother. For this reason, on December 26, 1932, she joined the "Little Franciscan Family" (Piccola Famiglia Francescana), a secular institute founded in 1929 by Father Ireneo Mazzotti. This framework allowed her to reconcile her religious consecration with her filial duties in the midst of the world. From 1940 to 1942, she served as mistress of novices. In 1941, she underwent nursing training and obtained her diploma to serve the sick and suffering.

After her mother's death, she was finally able to realize her youthful dream of entering a strict contemplative order. On May 5, 1943, she was admitted to the Poor Clare monastery in Trevi, where she took her simple vows on September 18, 1947. There, she primarily assumed the task of questing (questuante).

However, in 1950, serious health problems forced her to be hospitalized at the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. On the advice of her spiritual father, Father Ireneo, and with the agreement of her superior in Trevi, she did not return to the monastery. She rejoined the Little Franciscan Family and settled at the "Maria Assunta" Franciscan Cenacle in Ome (Brescia), the motherhouse of the institute, where she continued her life of prayer and discreet service.

The reputation for holiness of Antonia Emma Lesino developed after her tragic and sudden death. The diocesan process regarding her life, virtues, and reputation for holiness was opened to collect testimonies and writings. The cause was then transmitted to Rome, to the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Causes of Saints. After the meticulous examination of her Positio by theological consultants and then by cardinals and bishops, her heroic virtues were officially recognized.

On May 22, 2021, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Antonia Emma Lesino. By this act, she is officially declared Venerable. For her to be proclaimed Blessed, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession by the Holy See is required.

The spirituality of Antonia Emma Lesino rests on a deep contemplative union lived in the heart of daily and secular realities. She herself defined the charism of her institute as the offering of oneself to God through a life of communion in the world, making her soul a "mystical cell" to be constantly united with the Lord.

Her dedication as a nurse was imbued with a Christocentric vision of suffering; she was accustomed to saying when she treated a wound: "I know that I am treating Jesus" ("so di medicare Gesù"). Her legacy endures today through the members of the Little Franciscan Family who continue to live this testimony of faith and silent charity in the world.