Blessed Osanna Andreasi

Blessed Osanna Andreasi, born to Italian nobles Nicolaus and Agnes, displayed extraordinary piety from childhood. At the age of five, she reportedly beheld visions of angels, paradise, and the Holy Trinity. Heeding a divine call, she courageously rejected a marriage arranged by her father and entered the Third Order of Saint Dominic at seventeen. To care for her younger siblings following her parents' deaths, she delayed taking her perpetual vows for thirty-seven years, dedicating herself to familial duty while nurturing her spiritual life. A profound mystic, she often fell into ecstatic states when speaking of God, and visions of Christ bearing His cross were frequent. Though she bore the red marks of the stigmata without bleeding, her primary witness was her boundless charity: she tirelessly aided the poor and sick, expended her family’s considerable fortune to relieve suffering, and served as a spiritual director for many. She fearlessly criticized aristocratic decadence and moral laxity. Blessed Osanna died in the odour of sanctity, her life a testament to selfless service and deep union with Christ. Venerated as a model of faith and compassion, she is honored as the patron of schoolgirls and depicted in art with a Dominican tunic, a crown of thorns, rays of light, a broken heart with a crucifix, lilies, and angels—symbols reflecting her mystical encounters, charity, and enduring legacy.