Missionary Priests of St. John the Baptist
In 1730, Giovanna Maria Baptista Solimani founded the
Hermit Sisters of St. John the Baptist (or "Baptistines") at
Moneglia, not far from Genoa. The group intended to lead a life of penitence as a cloistered community. Don Dominic Francis Olivieri was Solimani's spiritual advisor. In 1744, Solimani traveled to Rome and with the aid of
Barnabite Mario Maccabei obtained the approval of
Pope Benedict XIV. The institute had a house and an oratory at Rome near the church of St. Isidoro, and the members held missions in the different churches of the city and in the surrounding countryside. As the Congregation wished to employ them in distant missions, a number of them were sent to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and China; some became bishops. Foreign missions did not absorb all their activity, for a number were employed in the service of the Church in Italy, two, Imperiali and Spinelli becoming cardinals. The only vows imposed by the founder were those of continuance in the congregation and readiness to go to missions to which the members should be sent by the Congregation. Olivieri died at Genoa on 13 June 1766. The society disappeared during the troubles which overwhelmed Italy at the end of the eighteenth century. ==Society of Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist==