Foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth

Born in Valletta, the daughter of Dr Paolo Curmi, Syndic of Żejtun, and Francesca née Azzopardi, Giuseppina passed her first years with her family at Żejtun. Of a sweet, calm, and joyful character, she was always ready to give a hand to all in need. Her life experienced a change during a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1893 where she met the French Sisters of the Immaculate. Back in Malta, she began to give special attention to poor, abandoned, or orphaned children.

Still a lay-woman, in 1885 Curmi gathered a number of children at her home, and then in the Holy Spirit church, to instruct them in catechism. She was very generous with them and needed money in order to have something to distribute.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Curmi began to foster a special devotion towards Jesus of Nazareth. She felt a vocation to found a new congregation of sisters. While some encouraged her, many others discouraged her. In 1913 Archbishop Pietro Pace gave her a partial consent, but warned her not to hurry. That was the beginning of the Institute of Jesus of Nazareth at Żejtun.

Curmi obtained a small house in Pius X Street, but many problems cropped up because she lacked official approval. A bigger house was provided to her in Diacono Square by Marquis Testaferrata Bonici and then, she began to build a larger house near the old church of St Gregory, paternally and wisely assisted by Mgr. Giuseppe De Piro.

Curmi died still a lay-woman. The Missionary Sisters of Jesus of Nazareth received their ecclesiastical approval only in 1934 and they have continued to take care of orphans and needy children in Malta and abroad.   

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.