Corteno Golgi (Brescia). The birthplace of Blessed Maria Troncatti (1883-1969), Corteno Golgi (Brescia), thanks to the pastoral commitment of the parish priest, Fr Alessandro Nana, and to the great love of the entire civil and religious community to their illustrious citizen, wanted to recall and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth into heaven of this Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, a missionary among the Shuar of Ecuador.
On 24-25 August 2019, various moments helped to recall the testimony of Sister Maria Troncatti, beatified November 24, 2012, and at the same time underline the relevance of her message in this year in which the Panamazon Synod is celebrated and in the imminence of the extraordinary missionary month of October, wanted by Pope Francis on the occasion of the centenary of the promulgation of the Apostolic Letter Maximum illud by Pope Benedict XV (November 30, 1919).
A first sign, offered by nature, was a rainbow that enveloped the sky of Corteno Golgi on the evening of Saturday 24 August, as if to confirm the mission of Sister Troncatti as a woman of peace and reconciliation. Even 50 years ago, at the end of the missionary’s funeral, a rainbow appeared in the sky of Sucúa (Ecuador), to seal the offering made of her life for reconciliation between the Shuar and the white settlers.
On the same evening in Corteno Golgi there was a solemn Concelebration presided by the Postulator General Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, with the participation of some native priests of Corteno. In the homily, inspired by the Gospel of the day that spoke of the need to “strive to enter through the narrow door”, Fr. Cameroni recalled how Blessed Maria Troncatti not only dedicated her life to the little ones, to the poor, to the sick and to the missionaries with a mother’s heart, but above all she gave herself as a gift of love for the good of the people to whom the Lord had sent her as a missionary.
A suggestive Via Lucis followed, which through six stages in significant places in the country, proposed the luminous testimony of this Daughter of Mary Help of Christians as a woman of faith, daughter of her land, proclaimer of the Gospel to the little ones and to the poor, disciple of Christ crucified, devoted daughter of the Help of Christians, example of missionary charity.
On Sunday 25 August there were several celebrations. In particular in the parish church, near the baptismal font where Maria Troncatti was baptized, the Christian community renewed their baptismal promises, asking through the intercession of the Blessed, that the grace of the baptism of each bear fruit in journeys of holiness and confirming the missionary commitment of the Church in the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ, dead and risen.
