Blessed Annunciata Astoria Cocchetti

Annunciata Astoria Cocchetti (9 May 1800 – 23 March 1882) was an Italian religious sister and the founder of the Suore di Santa Dorotea di Cemmo, a congregation dedicated to the educational needs of the poor in Brescia and the surrounding cities. Cocchetti made her vows in 1843 and was close with Luca Passi who established a congregation similar to hers. Cocchetti was beatified in Saint Peter's Basilica by Pope John Paul II on 21 April 1991. She is the patroness of the Suore di Santa Dorotea and of educators. Annunciata Astoria Cocchetti was born in Brescia on 9 May 1800 as the third of six children to Marcantonio Cocchetti and Giulia Albarelli; two siblings were Vincenzo and Giuseppina. In 1807, she was orphaned at the age of seven and was taken to live with her grandmother. Her uncle Carlo from Milan decided to take both Giuseppina and Vincenzo to live with him while Cocchetti was sent to her grandmother's. She received her First Communion and her Confirmation - on 28 February 1810 - from the Bishop of Brescia, Gabrio Maria Nava. In 1817, at the age of seventeen, Cocchetti used her grandmother's home as a school for poor girls. She received her education at Rovato and in 1822 moved her studies to Cemmo Valcamonica. Her grandmother died on 19 April 1823 which prompted her to leave her home and move in with her uncle in Milan. She resided there until 1829. During this time she came into contact with Luca Passi who was in the process of establishing a new religious congregation and remained in touch with him until his death in 1866. Cocchetti learned of a school in Brescia devoted to female education and decided to join it; one evening in 1831 she decided not to attend a gala evening with Carlo at the Teatro alla Scala and instead left a letter on his desk and travelled to Cemmo Valmonica. In 1821 Erminia Panzerini (d.