Benincasa family.

Ven. Orsola Benincasa, mystic and foundress of the Suore Teatine dell'Immacolata Concezione, was born in Naples in 1547 and died there in 1623. The family came from Tuscany but did not have any relationship with the family of St. Catherine of Siena. In 1579, when refused admission to the Capuchinesses, she retired to a hermitage on nearby Monte Sant'Elmo. In 1582 she went to Rome accompanied by her nephew saying that it had been revealed to her that she should go to the pope to exhort him to take action in reforming the church. After hearing her message, Gregory XIII had her examined by a commission of nine prelates and theologians among whom were Cardinals Giulio Santori and Antonio Carafa, the general of the Jesuits Claudio Acquaviva, and St. Philip Neri in whose respectful custody she was placed. St. Philip, however, remained unconvinced. After several months of severe tests she was released and sent back to Naples without anything being achieved. After returning to Monte Sant'Elmo she founded the Congregazione delle Teatine in 1583, a religious congregation of simple vows, to which she added in 1617 a branch dedicated to the contemplative life. Their rules were approved by Gregory XV in 1623. Venerable Orsola died in 1618. The "heroicity" of her virtue was proclaimed by Pius VI in 1793. The precise relationship between the Fondo Benincasa and the families cited was not determined.