St. Caterina Volpicelli (1839-1894) was born into an upper middle-class Neapolitan family. She was well educated at the Royal Educational Institute of St. Marcellino. She was a typical young woman of her class with a vibrant social life, however, she experienced a conversion through conversations with many holy people. One of these, Blessed Father Ludovico da Casoria, urged her to enter the Third Order of the Franciscans, which she did, remaining in society and evangelizing.
 
On May 28, 1859, Caterina left the lay order and entered the Congregation of Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. But her stay was short, she was forced to leave because of a severe illness. Caterina was deeply saddened that she had been unable to complete her vocation. But this was the Lord’s design, for it was during this time that she learned of a movement in French Jesuit monasteries called the Apostleship of Prayer. This powerful apostleship dedicates each day to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, finding God in every moment, every task. This prayerful way of life and her devotion to the Eucharist, with hours spent in adoration, marked the next stage of her life.
 
Finally, Caterina founded her own order, the Servants of the Sacred Heart on July 1, 1874. Her order opened the orphanage of the Margherites, a lending library, and set up the Association of the Daughters of Mary. The sisters even nursed the many victims of cholera in 1884. St. Caterina participated in the first National Eucharistic Congress celebrated in Naples in 1891. She was canonized on April 26, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI. Her story of conversion and perseverance marked by a prayerful dedication to the Sacred Heart is an inspiration. St. Caterina Volpicelli, pray for us!