100th of the arrival in Macas of Saint Maria Troncatti

Rome (Italy). December 4, 2025 marks 100 years since the arrival of Saint Maria Troncatti (1883 – 1969) at Macas, in Ecuador, a date that marks the beginning of her mission in the Amazon rainforest, which she calls the “home of her heart”.

This event is also linked to the presence of the Immaculate Conception. In those very days, the image of the “Virgen Purísima de Macas” was brought back after its destruction in a fire in 1891.

The missionary expedition that includes Sister Maria is composed of five Salesians of Don Bosco, including Monsignor Domenico Comin, who in 1920 was Apostolic Vicar of Méndez and Gualaquiza; three FMAs (one still a novice), the Provincial with an FMA accompanying her, and 12 helpers.

On 26 October 1925, they left Chunchi by train and then on foot to Méndez, the seat of the Vicariate, where they were forced to stop. Sister Maria herself, in a letter to her parents dated 27 December, 1925, recounts this journey that marks the beginning of her mission as “madrecita”:

“I left Chunchi on October 27^th; two long days on horseback to get to Cuenca. The horse mistreated me enough for the infamous ways that exist; in some places, the horse buries itself almost  entirely so that I didn’t have a fiber of my body that didn’t hurt… We had to take off our sister’s habit and put an apron on because the woolen habit would certainly have remained hung on the trees.

We walked all day and finally reached the Rio Nero, a huge river. There they had prepared a shed for us. Deathly tired, we lay down on the ground for two minutes to catch our breath; a boy was lighting a fire for us, preparing something hot, that is, a little broth. The night passed without sleep, a little due to tiredness and the great fear of snakes. The night, however, was an enchantment  contemplating the stars when the sky was clear and in the silence of the forest, there was only the voice of a few birds. My thoughts flew to my dear parents, to my beautiful birthplace. Perhaps my beloved parents will think of their Mary [I said to myself]. Lord, all for you! The sacrifices are immense, give me strength.”

In addition to the difficulty of riding through impervious areas on horseback, the group faces all kinds of hardships and dangers, but above all, they are confronted for the first time with the Shuar. A teenage daughter of one of their chiefs is shot during a shootout between feuding families. After four days, the bullet is still lodged in the stomach; the sorcerers had been unable to do anything. The Shuar chiefs, having learned that among the members of the expedition there is one ‘doctora’, stop the expedition and threaten Sister Maria. “If you heal her, we will honor you, but if she dies, we will kill you.” With a significant gesture, he implies that the same fate will be reserved for the other members of the expedition.

Monsignor Domenico Comin encourages her; “Operate on her”. But Sister Maria objects, “With what instruments?” The Provincial, Mother Carolina Mioletti, insists, “We will all pray, while you operate.” The girl meanwhile stands by and watches. Sister Maria notices the young woman’s gaze and takes courage. She uses what little she has, but above all, her whole faith. While some of the missionaries go to pray, others help her.

In the presence of the entire tribe observing what she does, Sister Maria, pronouncing “Maria Auxilium Christianorum”, makes a decisive incision and the bullet jumps out as if pushed from the inside, to everyone’s great satisfaction. Sister Maria thus earns the esteem of the Shuar, by whom she will be considered “the ‘witchest’ witch of all witches”.

On 1 December, the missionaries’ expedition sets out again. After four days, they reach Arapicos, where a commission comes to welcome them along with the reproduction of the “Virgen Purísima de Macas”, which arrived in one of the crates on the bearers’ shoulders.

The last day of the journey to Macas begins with Holy Mass. The image of the Immaculate Conception is placed on a small altar. At the end of Holy Mass, the text of the sixth day of the novena to the Immaculate Conception is read, the Hail Mary is recited, and the procession restarts with the image of the Blessed Virgin at its head.

They go along the Upano River and reach the confluence with the Jurumbaino, where they have to cross over a bridge made of vines and logs, a real danger. Applause and deep emotion welcome the image of the Immaculate Conception; some cry, all kneel.

When Sister Maria wakes up on the morning of 5 December, she hears the song, “Wake your hearts to praise Mary”. It is the Rosary of Dawn, joined by all the Sisters, a custom brought back to Macas by the teacher Mercedes Navarrete.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1925 is memorable. The painting is decorated with white and blue silks, but the biggest surprise is finding the Association of the Daughters of Mary organized, an absolute credit to Miss Mercedes Navarrete.

Confidence in Mary Immaculate and Help of Christians, sharing the mission with the Salesians and the relationship of mutual trust, courageous and intrepid faith, the maternal and tireless dedication of Sister Maria, will always characterize the 44 years she lived in the forest.