“We will lie down for such a long time after death that it is worthwhile to keep standing while we are alive. Let us work now; one day we will rest.” – St. Agostina Pietrantoni

St. Agostina Pietrantoni is a Vincentian Family Saint whose feast day is November 13. She faithfully served the sick at Santo Spirito hospital, Rome, the oldest hospital in Europe.

Spirituality finds fertile ground in the mountains. Perhaps it is the nearness of the sky, the sun, the stars; perhaps simply the tranquility of the villages, the contact with nature. The fact is that the women and men of Pozzaglia Sabina– a small pearl of the province of Reati, Italy– today still have their devotion to a woman, one of their ancient countrywomen– Sister Agostina, Patroness of Nurses of Italy. Her faith and love for neighbor found their highest expression in her work as a nurse, carried out without ever losing patience or the desire to pray, abandoning herself to the will of God.

–loosely translated from the original Italian on the website of the nonprofit organization Associazione Fedeli di Santa Agostina