1. www.suore.it INTRODUCTION AND SITE GUIDE

2. the Founders the Founders the special sites and their changes throughout the years the sisters and their activities throughout time the sisters and their activities throughout time he daily lives of the sisters today : the daily lives of the sisters today : their prayers and assistance to the elderly women their prayers and assistance to the elderly women This site illustrates a view of the past and present of this small Dominican congregation:

3. from 1875 until 1906, he served as the Bishop of San Miniato (Pisa), taking the name of Pius; and then retired to the San Dominic Convent in Fiesole. Monsignor Pio Alberto Alberto was a very zealous pastor and often requested preacher; preacher; He wrote many books on theology, spirituality, and devotion. Most of his books on spirituality and devotion have been printed and widely distributed among Christian People. was born in Livorno in 1837, He became a Dominican monk, at the Florentine Convent of San Marco was born in Livorno in 1837, He became a Dominican monk, at the Florentine Convent of San Marco,

4. Pio Alberto Del Corona, along with Mother Pia Elena Bonaguidi, founded, in 1872, the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Spirit. Grafting himself to the branches of the tree of Dominican spirituality, Del Corona wanted his congregation to cultivate a special devotion for the Holy Spirit. A home for the congregation was build as a monastery on via Bolognese, 111 in Florence. Here the co-founders passed away within a year of each other: Mons. Pio Albertoin 1912 and Mother Elenain 1913. A home for the congregation was build as a monastery on via Bolognese, 111 in Florence. Here the co-founders passed away within a year of each other: Mons. Pio Alberto in 1912 and Mother Elena in 1913.

5. Elena Bruzzi Elena Bruzzi was born in Siena in 1835, she got married and had a son. Pio Alberto Del Corona Early she was left widow and in Florence she met a young Dominican Father, Pio Alberto Del Corona, and became her spiritual daughter. Mother Pia Elena The Mother Pia Elena - this was her religious name - carried on for all of her life the Mother Superior office, showing to be a “mother” in the full meaning of the term. She beared a serious illness with heroism and serenity in the last three years of her life. female Congregation The Father, who was thinking about founding a female Congregation, found in the young widow the necessary skills to drive the Congregation. In 1872, after having formed a little group of nuns, he obtained Pope Pius IX’s approval and blessing.

7. Initially the Crypt Crypt had no decorations; after fifty years works started to create the tomb which would receive the body of the Founder. The last restructuration works (1999) have been carried out to provide a more appropriate location for Mgr. Pio Pio’s corpse. The Monastery Monastery is on the Bolognese Road, number 111, in the hilly region surrounding Florence Florence and is formed by a complex of buildings that develop from the road towards the slope at the back. The architect Antonio Romei was inspired by the Renaissance style of the Dominican Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, in Florence; the current Church Church is the result of a comprehensive restoration which took place in 1997. The slope of the ground allowed for the building of a Crypt under the Church

8. YESTERDAY AND TODAY THE MONASTERY THE CHURCH THE CRYPT

9. the prayer and the solemn liturgies

10. Aerial view of the large monastery complex In this large area of the monastery a retirement home for elderly women was structured and organized. An ample garden in the rear and extended cultivated fields. The peaceful garden is available for both the sisters and the resident ladies.

11. In order to show the special devotion that Mgr. Pio nourished for the Holy Spirit Spirit, in the web site you will find prayers and meditations on the Holy Spirit Spirit composed by Mgr. Pio. This is how a prayer dedicated to the Holy Spirit Spirit starts: Holy ”Holy Spirit Spirit, who are the Third Person of the eternal Holy Trinity, we worship You. You proceed by will from the Father and the Son, You are the substantial Bond of their blessed Union and You accomplish their mysterious Being in a Fire of Love…” The soul is thus instructed to receive the Holy Spirit Spirit: “If we want the Holy Spirit to speak inside us, let us swear to be quiet always. Be quiet in pain and struggle; in the lack of feeling and desolation of the soul, in the pitiful arguments of one’s pride; in the peaceful casualness of those who feel vile and are happy to be such… We will live as dead with this silence and we will live only in God.”

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