Giovanni Antonio Farina

Giovanni Antonio Farina was born in Gambellara in the Venetian Province to Pedro Farina (30 January 1768 - 22 September 1864) and Francesca Bellame.[4] Farina had ten siblings: Giacomo (b. 28 March 1792), Teresa (b. 17 March 1793), Gio Batta (b. 6 January 1795), Maddalena (b. 30 January 1796), Girolamo (b. 14 February 1801), Pietro (b. 2 March 1806), Lucia Fortunata-Farina (b. 18 August 1807), Giambattista (b. 18 October 1809), and Palma (b. 17 October 1811).

Following the death of his father in 1864, Farina was mentored by his maternal uncle Antonio who was a priest. At the age of 15, he entered the seminary in Vicenza.[1][2]

At the age of 21, Farina began teaching at the seminary, where he continued to serve for 18 years, and he taught grammar. He was ordained to the priesthood on 15 January 1827 and remained as a teacher at the seminary and even served as a librarian for a brief period and the canon of the local cathedral. In the first decade of his priesthood, he served as a chaplain at the parish of San Pietro and was sensitive to the educational needs of its people, in particular, girls and those who were deaf and blind.[2]

In 1831, he founded the first school for poor girls in Vicenza, and on 11 November 1836, the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts (Italian: Suore Maestre di Santa Dorotea, figlie dei Sacri Cuori). The Sisters taught at the girls' school, and also cared for the sick and the elderly.

On 25 May 1850, Farina was appointed as the Bishop of Treviso.[5] He received his episcopal consecration as a bishop on 19 January 1851, by Giovanni Giuseppe Cappellari, the Bishop of Vicenza, assisted by Bernardo Antonino Squarcina, the Bishop of Adria, and Federico Manfredini, the Titular Bishop of Famagusta. He was formally installed in his new diocese on 16 February 1851. On 18 September 1858, Farina ordained as a priest Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, the future Pope Pius X. On 18 June 1860, Farina was appointed as the Bishop of Vicenza, a position he held until his death in 1888, and he was formally installed in his new diocese on the following 16 December. In 1869 and 1870 he attended the First Vatican Council and was among the supporters for the definition of papal infallibility.

He died on 4 March 1888 at the age of 85 from a stroke. He had suffered a serious illness in 1886 and his strength continued to decline until his death. His remains were transferred to the order's motherhouse in 1898. His order received the decree of praise from Pope Gregory XVI on 1 March 1839 and papal approval from Pope Pius X later after his death on 2 May 1905.[2] In 2005 there were 1541 religious in a total of 179 houses in nations such as Poland and in Israel.