Luigia Tincani (born in Chieti on March 25, 1889, died in Rome on May 31, 1976) participated in the rising movements of Catholic laity at the onset of 20th century, animating them with a lucid intuition on the new social and professional tasks of women.

Her religious vocation, matured in Dominican context while in Bologna and supported by Fr. Ludovico Fanfani O.P. in Rome, was actualized by her at the service of evangelization of culture in all the places where it gets developed and is expressed itself in study and educational activities, as a form of pre-evangelization.

A great contemplative soul and a lively and lovable personality, Luigia Tincani has come to implement the synthesis of a sincere Christian humanism that has rendered her attentive with singular capacity of creative answers, to the problems of contemporary men and women, particularly of those who consider themselves far from the Church or indifferent to matters of religion.

Teacher since her prime age and being aware of the fact that the greatest need of society is that of human and Christian formation of youth, she wanted to go in search of them there, where all pass through, ie in state schools, to share in their interests and to provoke them to questions that accompany them in their journey of life.

As a member of the competent Committee to deal with Scholastic problems at the Central office for Catholic Schools of Italy, she was given responsible duties by Popes Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI.

She laboured much, personally and through her Missionary sisters, for the Catholic Associations (Catholic Graduates Women, Scouts and Guides), collaborated with Msgr. Montini in the 1920s for Italian Catholic Federation of University Students, in order to a formation of an active Catholic laity in the civil society even of women wing.

Shared in the values and projects of Fr. Mariano Cordovani, Don Giuseppe De Luca, Card. Lercaro, Fr. Jacques Loew and other personalities.  Followed the ecclesial events before and after the II Second Vatican Council, with lively participation in pursuits of reforms and projects of apostolic initiatives on frontiers by sending individual missionaries to far off countries (United States, France, Egypt and Spain) and opening small communities in the suburbs of Italian towns.

She opened Union's first foundations in Pakistan (1947) at the request of Fr. Ludovico Fanfani and later in India (1967).

Her last years she spent in illness and suffering was supreme witness of her missionary spirituality.

In 2011 the Church recognized her as Venerable.

For more details see:Cesarina Broggi, Accompagnati da una presenza: Luigia Tincani, "Ricerche Teologiche" 30/1, 2019, pp. 51-78.

Cosimo Costa, Luigia Tincani. Una donna amata da Dio. Una fonte d'amore per l'educativo, "Ricerche Teologiche" 26/1, 2015, pp. 133-150. 

Luigia Tincani. Una donna accompagna il Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano II, a cura di Cesarina Broggi, con una prefazione di Mons. Jean-Louis Bruguès op, Angelicum University Press, Romae 2013.

Tra storia e profezia. La pienezza dell’umano negli scritti di Luigia Tincani fondatrice della LUMSA, a cura di C. Broggi e B. Papasogli, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 2010.

R.I. Zanini - M. Fagiolo, Sulla strada delle grandi cime, Ed. San Paolo 2008.

A. Montonati, Luigia Tincani, Vivere per educare, Ancora, Milano 2001.

Luigia Tincani, Frammenti di quotidianità. Spiritualità domenicana per il nostro tempo. Testi scelti e introdotti da Elena Malaspina, Presentazione di Alessandro Cortesi, op, Ancora, Milano 1998.

V. Baldelli - G. Cavallini - G. Dalla Torre - C. Dau Novelli - G.P. Di Nicola - E. Ducci - A. Gaudio - N. Iorio  - E. Malaspina - D. Mongillo -  G. Rocca - I. Venchi, Luigia Tincani. La scuola come vocazione, Introduzione di N. Raponi, Conclusione di G. De Rosa, Studium, Roma 1998.

B. Papasogli, Luigia Tincani. L’oggi di Dio sulle strade dell’uomo, Roma, Città Nuova, 1985, rist. 2009.