Maria Anna Donati
Italian nun (1848-1925)
Feast: 18 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Marianna Donati was born at Marradi, near Florence, on 26 October 1848. At thirteen, at her First Communion, she felt called to religious life; after an inconclusive time with the Vallombrosan sisters she placed herself under the guidance of the Piarist Father Celestino Zini.
As Mother Celestina of the Mother of God she founded the Poor Daughters of St Joseph Calasanz, the Calasanctian Sisters.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A foundress who gave her life to poor girls in the spirit of St Joseph Calasanz.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- Joseph Calasanz Saint“As Mother Celestina of the Mother of God she founded the Poor Daughters of St Joseph Calasanz, the Calasanctian Sisters.” — this site's research
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Celestina della Madre di Dio
- Wikidata Q302432 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Maria Anna Donati (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.