Blessed Rose Venerini was born at Viterbo in 1656.  After the death of a suitor, she entered the convent, but had to leave a few months later to care for her widowed mother. She used to gather women and girls in her neighborhood to pray the rosary in the early evenings, but learned their ignorance of the faith. She instructed them and was guided by Fr. Ignatius Martinelli, who convinced her that her vocation was as a teacher, rather than a contemplative  in a convent. In 1685, Blessed Rose opened a preschool for girls in Viterbo and it was a success. By 1692, Cardinal Barbarigo asked her help in the training of teachers and the organizing of schools in Montefiascone. Later, she organized schools in several places and this move was sometimes faced with strong opposition from her detractors. In 1713, she made a foundation in Rome  which was well received  and praised by  Pope Clement XI. She died in Rome  on May 7, 1728 and with her holiness confirmed with numerous miracles, she  was beatified in 1952. Sometime after her death, her lay school teachers were organized into a religious congregation  called Venerini Sisters. This religious congregation is found both in Italy and America.