Cofoundress of the Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians
Feastday May 13
This brief account comes from www.sdb.org
“I entrust them to you”
“I entrust them to you”
Mary Domenica was born in Mornese, in the province of
Alessandria, on May 9, 1837, to a large peasant family.
Equipped with an uncommon physical strength, even as a girl she
worked in the fields with her father Joseph: “Because God does not let us lack
bread, we must pray and work,” he said.
Thanks to the deeply Christian education received in the family,
Mary made great sacrifices to meet Jesus daily in the Eucharist: “Without him I
could not live,” she Said. In 1860 typhus arrived in Mornese. Her confessor Fr.
Dominic Pestarino asked her for help in treating some relatives of the
Mazzarello family. Mary accepted, but fell ill. She recovered unexpectedly, but
she lost her previous physical strength; not her faith, however. Walking along
the road one day, she saw a mysterious vision: a big building with lots of
girls running in the courtyard; a voice told her, “I'm giving them to you.”
The Holy Spirit formed a motherly heart in her
Unable to be a farmer anymore, in agreement with her friend
Petronilla she decided to become a seamstress, to teach poor girls to sew. The
Holy Spirit formed a motherly heart in her. Prudent and wise, she educated the
girls with preventive love. The small workshop opened and – as also happened to
Don Bosco – the Lord sent her the first orphans to welcome. The first
collaborators arrived; Fr. Pestarino called them the Daughters of the
Immaculate.
Don Bosco came to Mornese with his youths in 1864, thinking
about opening a school for the boys of the town. Mary looked at him and
exclaimed, “Don Bosco is a saint, and I feel it.” Don Bosco visited the small
workshop run by the Daughters of the Immaculate and was very impressed.
Daughters of the Immaculate – Daughters of Mary Help of
Christians
Pius IX asked Don Bosco to found a female institute. Summoning Fr.
Pestarino, he chose the Daughters of the Immaculate and sent them to the newly
built school – which became a school for girls, not boys as the villagers had
expected. Mary and her companions suffered hunger, also because of the initial
hostility of their fellow villagers, but they were always cheerful and their
faith never wavered.
In 1872 the first 15 Daughters of the Immaculate became the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Mary was called to govern the group, but
initially she called herself the vicar, because, she said, “the true superior
is our Lady.”
The Institute grew, and the first houses were opened outside
Mornese, and then the first missions in South America. Mary was called “the
mother.” Despite everything, she remained simple and caring with everyone, and
always gave the example even in the humblest jobs.
With her wisdom she directed the spirituality of the Institute,
incarnating in the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians the charism given to
Don Bosco.
She died at Nizza Monferrato on May 14, 1881, at the age of 44.
At her death the Institute already had 165 sisters and 65 novices scattered
across 28 houses (19 in Italy, 3 in France, and 6 in South America).
She was beatified by Pius XI in 1938 and canonized by Pius XII
on June 24, 1951.
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