On Saturday, 9 November 2025, the Casamari Abbey Section of the Tuscia and Sabina Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George held a meeting at the guest and hospitality house of the Cistercian Sisters of Charity of Anagni, located at Via Maria 24 in Casamari, where the Sisters have been present for several decades, engaged in pastoral service at the Cistercian Abbey.

The Congregation was founded by the Servant of God Claudia De Angelis, born in Anagni on 5 April 1675. She was a woman of profound spirituality and strong social commitment. Founder of the Pious School of Charity, from which the Congregation would eventually originate, Mother Claudia dedicated her life to the education and assistance of young women in difficulty.

The spirituality of the Congregation is rooted in the name that Jesus gave to Mother Claudia on Christmas night of 1699: “You shall be called Claudia of the Cross.” Crucified Love is the central mystery which gives life to the charism of an educational charity meant to be lived and witnessed. Love–Charity, with which one must be imbued, is the title Mother Claudia desired for the Pious Work so that the primacy of God and openness to one’s neighbour—both near and far—may be recognised.

For a Cistercian Sister of Charity, educating is not only instructing, teaching, or transmitting notions and knowledge, but forming in Christ-centered love, seeking to bring out the best within each person. Always and in everything striving to:
“Behave rightly with God; behave rightly with oneself; behave rightly with others” (from the maxims of Mother Claudia of the Cross).

During the meeting, Holy Mass was celebrated, presided over by the Representative for Casamari Abbey of the Tuscia and Sabina Delegation, Prof. Father Pierdomenico Maria Volpi, O.Cist., Chaplain of Merit.

Homily

In his homily, Father Volpi recalled the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica and emphasized that belonging to a chivalric Order must be lived in a spirit of truth, founded on humility; otherwise, one can easily fall into hypocrisy.

He recalled the words of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy (Queen of the Two Sicilies, as the consort of King Francis II of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies and Grand Master of the Constantinian Order), which urge a Knight to be humble:

Though I am healthy, rich, and beautiful — and then?
Though I possess silver and gold — and then?
Though many servants obey my commands — and then?
Though I alone possess brilliance and learning — and then?
Though fortune has placed me in high rank — and then?
Though the world rejoice a thousand years — and then?
Soon we die, and nothing remains — and then?
Serve God alone, and you shall have everything thereafter.

Father Volpi then reminded them that by belonging to the Constantinian Order, the Lord has granted “something more,” and therefore He will ask more in return.

After Holy Mass, a fraternal agape was held, attended by the Abbot of Casamari, Dom Loreto M. Camilli, O.Cist., who is always close to the Constantinian Order.

The meeting, organized by Angelo Musa, Knight of Merit with Silver Star, was also attended by a group of Knights and Dames of the Real Irmandade de São Miguel Arcanjo (Order of Saint Michael of the Wing), whose Royal Patron and Grand Master is HRH Prince Duarte Pio de Bragança, Duke of Braganza, Head of the Royal House of Portugal, Constantinian Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice decorated with the Collar, Honorary President of the Royal Deputation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.

The Cistercian Sisters of Charity

Born into an ancient noble family that had fallen into decline, the foundress of the Cistercian Sisters of Charity, the Servant of God Claudia De Angelis, grew up in a setting marked by economic hardship and fragile health. From childhood she showed a special inclination toward spiritual life and, according to her testimonies, had a mystical vision at the age of ten that directed her toward a path of consecration.

Over the years she reported further mystical experiences, including encounters with Saint Catherine of Siena, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Rose of Viterbo, who guided her along her spiritual journey.

Despite the skepticism of her townspeople, Mother Claudia of the Cross never abandoned her vocation. Around 1698, she began gathering a group of young women who wished to join her in a path of prayer and service to the needy. This experience led her to develop an educational project that materialized on 25 May 1709 with the founding of the Pious School of Charity in Anagni. The institution received pontifical approval in 1713 from Pope Clement XI, a crucial step for its stability and growth.

In March 1703, due to health issues, Mother Claudia temporarily moved first to Marino and then to Rome, where she continued her work. However, the worsening of her condition forced her to return to Anagni. Aware of the seriousness of her illness, on 9 January 1714 she wrote her will, expressing the desire to ensure the continuity of the school. Her condition worsened in the following months, and she died on 29 June 1715.

After her death, Mother Claudia’s work was carried forward by those who followed her, including her spiritual director Giovanni Marangoni, who strengthened the structure of the school and facilitated its association with the Cistercian Order. Since then, the community of the Cistercian Sisters of Charity has continued to preserve her memory and carry on the educational and charitable mission she began.

The General House of the Congregation is located at the Palace of the Popes of Anagni, famous for the “Slap of Anagni,” the humiliation inflicted on Pope Boniface VIII on 7 September 1303.

The Congregation, in addition to the Mother House in Anagni, has houses in Italy and abroad:

  • Borgo Podgora (serving the parish of Santa Maria di Sessano in the Diocese of Latina–Sezze–Priverno–Terracina),

  • Casamari (serving the Cistercian Abbey in the Diocese of Frosinone–Veroli–Ferentino),

  • Vallepietra (serving the Shrine of the Most Holy Trinity in the Diocese of Anagni–Alatri),
    and missions in Africa (Nigeria, in Rwenkobe, the Monkey Hill, Diocese of Hoima) and Brazil (in the region of Minas Gerais, where the Cistercian Fathers of Casamari have been engaged since the 1950s in the mission of the city of Claraval).