Virginia Centurione Bracelli was a 17th-century Italian noblewoman from Genoa who dedicated her life to charity and religious service. Born into a high-ranking family, she was married to Gaspare Grimaldi Bracelli, but became a widow at the age of twenty. Following this, she chose a life of celibacy and focused on assisting the impoverished and the ill. She eventually established several religious communities to manage the growing needs of the sick and poor in her region.