Bl. Emily Bicchieri

Blessed Emily Bicchieri was born at Vercelli in 1238, and having lost her mother at an early age, put herself under the special protection of the all-holy Mother of God. She refused her father's plans for her to marry and convinced him to build a convent, the first of Dominican regular tertiaries, of which she became abbess when twenty. Having been elected prioress against her will, Blessed Emily governed with tact and ability, and was careful to tell no one to do what she would not do herself. She was noted for her frequent communions (uncommon in those days), her ecstasies and visions, and the miracles attributed to her. She died on her birthday, May 3, at the age of seventy-six, and her cult was approved in 1769. Her feast day is August 19.