Some Observations on St Luigi Scrosoppi d.O. and the Sisters of Providence of St Cajetan Thiene: From Hagiography to History

Abstract

With a more attentive and more laical reinterpretation of biographies of St Louis Scrosoppi, a Friulian priest who lived in the 19th century and was canonized by Pope John Paul II, the paper explains how the development of the congregation of St Cajetan Thiene’s Sisters of Providence – which he established – was due more to geopolitical reasons and the efforts of Udine archbishop Andrea Casasola than to St Louis’ activism, as has so far been attested. Moreover, St Louis Scrosoppi’s peculiar concern for troubled girls is most likely connected to this part of his life that has barely been examined by historiographers.

Keywords

• Louis Scrosoppi
• Providence Sisters
• religious congregations
• 19th century
• hagiography