Novices on the paths of Sister Maria Troncatti

Castel Gandolfo (Italy). From 23 to 25 August 2025, the Community of the International Novitiate Mary Help of Christians of Castel Gandolfo reached Corteno Golgi, the native town of Sister Maria Troncatti, to take part in the event Walking on the paths of Sister Maria Troncatti, a triduum in preparation for her Canonization next 19 October, organized by the Lombard Holy Family Province (ILO) in collaboration with the Municipality, the parish, and local authorities.

Present with them were the Formator, Sister Luisa Menozzi; the Assistants, Sister Paulina Sasiak, Sister Rosa Vu Thi Kim Lien; the new Professed Sisters; and Paola Staiano, Salesian Cooperator who directed the theatrical show Born to fly, dedicated to the first missionary expedition of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to Uruguay in 1877, included within the program and staged on the evening of August 24^th.

The account of the Novices:

“A particularly significant moment of these days was the possibility of proposing the show for the second time. For us, it was certainly not a mere reply, but it was an opportunity to enrich the fruit of our work together with greater meaning. Comparing the experience of the first six very young missionaries with that of Sister Maria allowed us to feel a little closer to the desires, fears, and questions that moved in the hearts of these women before ‘taking flight’.

Furthermore, we chose to conclude the show with Maria Troncatti, with the Madrecita song, composed by the Novices of the first year. It was very exciting for us to be able to bring the show before such a vast and varied audience – Sisters, inhabitants of the town, children, young people, elderly people, … – precisely in a place which, a few years after the 1st expedition, would become the springboard for Sister Maria’s departure.

This triduum in preparation for the Canonization of the Salesian Blessed was an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the places where she was born and lived her youth. Touching the places first-hand, breathing in the climate of Val Camonica, surrounded by mountains, woods and paths that she walked, allowed us to have a concrete experience of what we read in books and heard from testimonies.

This triduum in preparation for the Canonization of the Salesian Blessed was an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the places where she was born and lived her youth. Touching the places first-hand, breathing in the climate of Val Camonica, surrounded by mountains, woods, and paths that she walked, allowed us to have a concrete experience of what we read in books and heard from testimonies.

We were very impressed and fascinated by the unreserved welcome and great availability of the inhabitants of Corteno Golgi. Everything in these days spoke of familiarity and encounter, from the very first welcome, to the care and fraternity of the celebrations; from the promptness and availability to offer transport to those in need, to the generous service during meals, even by the little ones.

These days were a great gift to be able to stop where everything for Sister Maria began and where her roots were  robustly and deeply rooted in the daily routine of a simple and peasant life within which the Lord found more and more space to take up residence, among mountains and valleys that forged her strong and tender personality at the same time.

In these days, it has been possible to renew in us the awareness that holiness is truly a gift for the whole Church and for the whole world, which opens the sky down here. A sign of this was primarily the collaboration and familiarity between the FMA, Sister Maria’s fellow villagers, her relatives, and all the people who, despite not knowing her, putting themselves at service and breathing in the climate during this triduum, were touched by a contagious joy.

At the end of these days, we can say with more awareness that we have our own Sister in Heaven!”

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