Ursula Rivata was born in Guarene (Piedmont), Italy, on July 12, 1897. As a child and teenager, her family life, work and parish activities prepared her for the life of religious consecration to which she aspired. Her meeting with the Servant of God Fr. James Alberione, Founder of the Society of St. Paul and the Daughters of St. Paul, was decisive in orienting her future life and mission. Fr. Alberione himself welcomed the young Ursula into the Pauline Family on July 29, 1922. He founded the Congregation of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master in order that this new religious institute, "entirely dedicated to the Divine Master, and devoting itself to Eucharistic adoration and the priestly and liturgical apostolate, might be a source of grace for the entire Pauline Family, especially those branches involved in the apostolic life." Ursula Rivata was the first of 8 young women chosen for this new foundation. As Sr. Scholastica, she was entrusted with the role of guiding her sisters. She died peacefully in Sanfrè (CN) March 24, 1987. She was proclaimed "Venerable" on December 9, 2013.