It was on March 1st, 1838 that a baby was born to the Possenti's in Assisi Italy. He was baptized Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi. His father was the governor of Assisi and was a wealthy man. Francis was the 11th child of 13 children. When he was three, the family moved to Spoleto because his father was appointed Clerk there. Francis was by no means an angel when he was young. He was very stubborn and wasn't always very obedient, but he did have a good heart and would always say he was sorry. At the age of four, one of his sisters suddenly died of a strange illness on January 27, 1842. A few days later his mother also died of a stroke. Francis did miss his mother very much, and would pray to Our Lady of Sorrows the way she had taught him to do. Francis had once got a gold watch for his birthday. One of his brothers remarked how nice it was. Francis asked him if he wanted the watch and gave it to him. He would also give his things to other poorer children.

After Francis had finished his elementary grades, he was sent to a Jesuit school. He loved to act and would be in many of the school plays. He was a good actor and many people liked his performances. He also liked music very much. One of Francis' favorite sports was hunting, and he was very good at it to. And he could out ride most anyone on a horse. But Francis most especially loved to pray, particularly to Our Lady of Sorrows. One time a friend of his told him to commit a sin. Francis immediately refused, but his friend began to threaten him if he didn't do it. Francis then pulled out a knife making the other boy run away. Francis's sister had once lost a very special pin, and he didn't stop looking for it until he found it for her.

When Francis was 18 he fell gravely ill. He told his father that the last time he fell ill he had promised that he would become a religious, and he had not done anything about it. Another time he had made the same promise was when he had once been hunting and he had tripped on a rock and dropped his rifle. The rifle went off, but it did not hurt him it only scraped his cheek. With this renewed promise, he and his father prayed for his recovery. Francis did get better and he was forgiven in the confessional. Soon after two of his brothers and his favorite sister died. Francis then went to a holy hermit that lived nearby in the forest to get instruction. The hermit said that Our Lady would show him what he should do. In August of 1856 Francis attended a grand procession to Our Lady. When the picture of her was passing by him he saw her lips move and heard her voice say, "Francis, why all the waiting? Keep your promise and become a religious."

Francis then made up his mind. He was going to be a Passionist. His brother went with him on the trip to Morrovalle. On passing through Loreto, Francis prayed at a shrine of Our Lady. While he was praying, he felt a great joy that took away all of his homesickness. On September 21, 1856, Francis joined the Passionists as a novice and took the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. After Gabriel entered the Passionists, he worked so hard in becoming a Saint by offering up small things, that his example was deeply admired by all who lived with him. He wished to do so many severe penances that Father Norbert, the novice director, told him that he could not do any penances without his permission.

Gabriel's love for Our Lady was very great. Sometimes as Gabriel prayed to her he could see her. St. Gabriel would refer to Our Lady as, "God's Masterpiece".

One time as Father Norbert was traveling, he saw a basilica that was crowded with people. He then was told that the basilica was dedicated to one his novices - Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.

One day Gabriel fell very ill and suddenly collapsed. He became very weak from his great loss of blood. But that did not stop the devil, he tempted poor Gabriel who was in so bad a condition, and Gabriel continually prayed to Our Lady for protection.

In February of 1862 Gabriel's tuberculoses grew so bad that the doctors had no hope for him. On his death bed Gabriel's last words were prayers to his Lady of Sorrows. St. Gabriel died on the morning of February 27, 1862 at the age of 24. He died of tuberculoses only 6 years after he joined the Passionists. Many people came to Gabriel's funeral and prayed to him as if he were already a Saint. And in 1920, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was canonized a Saint.