Seraphina Sforza | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Anonymous devotional portrait, 15th century | |
| Born | Sveva da Montefeltro 1434 Urbino |
| Residence | Pesaro |
| Died | 8 September 1478 (aged 43–44) |
| Venerated in | Catholicism |
| Beatified | 17 July 1754 by Pope Benedict XIV |
| Feast | 9 September |
Sveva da Montefeltro (1434 – 8 September 1478) was an Italian beatified nun and noblewoman of the House of Montefeltro. She is venerated by the Catholic Church for her life of devotion despite the hardships she encountered.
After an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen to Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, Sveva became known as Sveva Sforza. Some years later, Alessandro, himself carrying on a public affair with another woman, accused Sveva of adultery and plotting to kill him. He forced her to enter a convent of the Poor Clare order; there she took the name Seraphina (or Serafina), and later became abbess. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754, and has been venerated since, especially by Franciscans.