Teresa Grillo Michel

Teresa Grillo Michel, also known by her religious name Maria Antonia, was an Italian Roman Catholic nun and the founder of the Little Sisters of Divine Providence. Grillo was a widow who also part of the Third Order of Saint Francis; she entered the religious life following the death of her husband. Grillo studied in Turin and Lodi before returning to her hometown Alessandria where she married. But her husband died sometime later leaving her in a deep depression that came a call to help the poor. Grillo founded a religious congregation that would expand into Latin America and she would also maintain contact with important individuals such as Luigi Orione and Clelia Merloni both of whom she befriended.