COTTOLENGO, SAINT GIUSEPPE

born May 3, 1786, Bra, kingdom of Sardinia died April 30, 1842, Chieri; canonized 1934; feast day April 29 in full Saint Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo founder of the Societies of the Little House of Divine Providence and of 14 religious congregations. A canon in Turin, Cottolengo was called (1827) to administer last rites to a dying woman. Shocked to discover that there was no hospital nearby, he began a successful series of charitable enterprises. The few rooms in Valdocco that he rented for care of the sick soon grew into a hospital called Piccola Casa, or the Little House of Divine Providence. He subsequently founded the Brothers and Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul to nurse in the hospital; the Sisters of Thais to serve as a refuge for penitent women; and the Congregation of Priests of the Holy Trinity to minister to homes he established for epileptics, the deaf and dumb, orphans, the aged, and the mentally ill. His congregations, all affiliated with the Piccola Casa, include the Daughters of Compassion, the Hermits of the Holy Rosary, and the Daughters of the Good Shepherd.