Virginia Centurione Bracelli
Virginia Centurione Bracelli (, 2 April 1587 – 15 December 1651) was an Italian noblewoman from Genoa. Her father was the Doge of Genoa, and she had a short marriage due to being widowed in 1607. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Life Virginia Centurione was born on 2 April 1587 in Genoa and was of noble origins. She was the daughter of Giorgio Centurione (who was the Doge of Genoa from 1621 to 1623) and Lelia Spinola. Despite her desire to live a cloistered life, she was forced into marriage to Gaspare Grimaldi Bracelli, who was a rich noble, on 10 December 1602. She had two daughters: Lelia and Isabella. The marriage did not last long, for she became a widow on 13 June 1607 at the age of 20. She refused another arranged marriage brought on due to her father's influence and took up a vow to live a chaste life. After her husband's death she began charitable works and assisted the poor and the sick. To help alleviate the poverty in her town she founded the "Cento Signore della Misericordia Protettrici dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo". The center was soon overrun with people