St. Luigi Scrosoppi is the first Friulan saint in 1200 years; the last was the holy Patriarch Paulinus of Aquileia, who died in 802. St. Luigi is also the first saint of the Oratorian Family, after St. Philip Neri. The founder of the Sisters of Providence, Luigi Scrosoppi, lived through 1800 as the protagonist.
Born in Udine in 1804, third among the three living brothers, Luigi was the third priest of the family. Carlo, the first-born of mother Antonia Lazzarini’s first marriage with Francesco Filaferro, became a priest of the Philipinerian Order and died in exile in Klagenfurt. Giovanni Battista, born from the marriage with Domenico Scrosoppi, a goldsmith of Udine, also joined the seminary and became a diocesan priest. Luigi followed the footsteps of the brothers and joined the seminary in Udine, did his studies well, with great diligence, taking advantage of the academic possibilities and excellent teachers. He was ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Udine on 31 March 1827.
From the start he celebrated Mass and preached in the church of St. Mary Magdalene, attached to the Philipinerian Oratory of his brother Carlo. His first sermon was on humility, the second on the mercy of God, the third, on the entry of righteous souls into heaven.