The Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist has as its primary aim the praise of God and the sanctification of its members. From this spirituality and mission flow three essential elements:
Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist
Living the spousal relationship with Jesus of Nazareth at the service of the little ones and the poor and, like the Baptist, preparing the way.
Father Founder
Alfonso Maria Fusco (Angri, March 23, 1839 – Angri February 6, 1910) was an Italian priest and Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist. Beatified in 2001, he was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in 2016.
He received his First Communion at the age of seven and soon after, his Confirmation. He manifested his vocation to his parents at the age of eleven. On the 5th of November 1850, he entered the episcopal seminary of Nocera dei Pagani. During his seminary years, he was apparently inspired in a dream by Jesus. He wanted to found both a convent for Sisters and an orphanage for boys and girls.
On the 2nd of August, the Institute was approved by the Bishop of Nocera Luigi del Forno, and Maddalena Caputo became the first Superior. On the 29th of September 1889 Fr. Alfonso founded the Trade School called “Opera degli Artigianelli”. On the 6th of February, 1910, he died in Angri by natural death.
He was born in Angri, in the province of Salerno, to Aniello Fusco and Guiseppina Schiavone, the eldest of five children. He was given the name of Alfonso Maria de Liguori by his parents for the grace received for the birth of their first child. He had a mild character and was very sensitive to the poor and to prayer.
Grateful for his meeting with Maddalena Caputo, the noble young woman from Angri who aspired to Religious Life, on September 26, 1878, he founded the “Congregation of the Sisters of the Nazarene”, which would later take the name of Sisters of St. John the Baptist.