On the paths of Sister Maria Troncatti

Corteno Golgi (Italy). Saints walk among people and with people. This is what was experienced from 23 to 25 August 2025, during the three days lived in Corteno Golgi in the province of Brescia, birthplace of Sister Maria Troncatti, on the occasion of the feast of her birth into Heaven and close to her Canonization.

Walking on the paths of Sister Maria Troncatti is the title of this special triduum prepared in collaboration between the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of the Lombard Holy Family Province (ILO) and the inhabitants of Corteno Golgi. They were days full of events to delve deeper into the figure of the soon to be Saint, to discover the area in which she was born and lived her youth, to let oneself be questioned by this great missionary.

The synergy between the various parties to carry out the event is fundamental: Sister Marisa Canobbio, Provincial Vicar and the ILO Province Commission, the Pro loco of Corteno Golgi, the municipal administrations of Corteno Golgi and Aprica, the Alpini and the CAI, as well as all the Cortenese volunteers.

The turnout recorded in the small town of Val Camonica was large, with families and representatives of the Salesian Family, as well as numerous Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, especially from the houses of Lombardy, but not only. In fact, the Visiting Councilor, Sister Maria Assunta Sumiko Inoue, and the General Secretary of the FMA Institute, Sister Maria Luisa Nicastro, were present from Rome, together with the Animator, Sister Jessica Salvaña, with some Sisters from the Preprovince of Mary Mother of the Church (RMC) and the novices of Mary Help of Christians Novitiate of Castel Gandolfo.

Some FMAs also arrived from nearby Provinces in Northern Italy, including Sister Piera Cavaglià, former Secretary General of the Institute, an expert in spirituality, who gave several Presentations over the three days. There was also no shortage of attendance from abroad, notably from Sacred Heart Province (ECU) of Ecuador, represented by the Provincial Vicar, Sister Ayda Asunción Tuárez Saltos.

On the first day, after welcoming the participants, the event was officially begun with introductory greetings from Sister Stefania Saccuman, Provincial of the ILO Province; Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, General Postulator for the Salesian Family; Sister Francesca Caggiano, vice-Postulator of the Cause of Sister Maria Troncatti; and Ramona Taddei, President of the Pro Loco of Corteno Golgi. Everyone expressed great enthusiasm for the occasion to celebrate these days together.

In the initial greeting, Fr. Pierluigi recalled the importance of knowing and valuing the places where the Saints lived, “because the grace of God is not abstract, but is embodied. And when we think of Nazareth, of Bethlehem, where the annunciation, the birth of Jesus, took place, it is not just said ‘et Verbum caro factum est’, but ‘HIC Verbum caro factum est’. Then we can say hic, that is, here, in Corteno the grace of God manifested itself in a special way in the story of a girl, daughter of this land, of a great tradition of faith.

[…] We will walk the paths, we will visit the birthplace, the parish, the baptistery… As you walk through these places, try to grasp what the Lord wants to tell us through this testimony. The Church makes saints, not for them who are already blessed, but makes them for us, so that we may learn to know them, in their life experience; so that we may  pray to them as fellow travelers; and, above all, so that we may let ourselves be inspired by them.”

The afternoon began with greetings of welcome from Mayor Giuseppino Lippi and the Pastor Fr. Mauro Zambetti. Both emphasized the joy of being able to host this event and the pride of the people of Cortena in being able to celebrate a holy person from their town.

Sister Maria Assunta Sumiko Inoue also added her greetings and, on behalf of the Superior General, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, expressed gratitude towards all those who made this triduum possible, to walk together towards the Canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti.

In the afternoon, the relatives of the soon to be canonized saint guided the participants to get to know the town and the places where Sister Maria lived. Along Via Camillo Golgi, renamed by the people of Cortena “via of the famous” can be found, a short distance from each other, the houses of the philosopher and partisan Pietro Chiodi; of the Nobel Prize winner for medicine Camillo Golgi; and that of Sister Maria. It was possible to visit her birthplace, which was restored for the occasion. Particularly touching is the “stua”, the only heated room in the entire house, where the Saint was born.

Visits to the Golgi museum and the parish church could not be missed, with the baptismal font where Sister Troncatti’s Christian life began. Following are the testimonies of some volunteers from the Mato Grosso Association, Rosita Sgariboldi and Guido Visini, who shared a few months of mission with Sister Maria Trocatti.

Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni then presided over the Eucharistic Celebration, passionately describing in the homily the life of Sister Mary as an artisan of peace and reconciliation:

“We hear a lot these days about an unarmed and disarming peace. Here we have an exceptional example. Corteno Golgi already boasts a Nobel Prize for medicine: Camillo Golgi. I believe that a Nobel Peace Prize would also be deserved by this extraordinary woman who was able to create all the conditions for peace. And we know that to bring about this peace, she handed herself over as a victim of peace to Him to whom she had handed over all that she was. And this is the extraordinary strength of this woman.”

In the evening, the participants walked with torches lit along the streets, until they reached the suggestive Romanesque church of San Martino, located above the town, where the ANA Valcamonica choir was waiting for them and permitted them to immerse themselves, through music, in the beauty of simple mountain life and authentic spirituality.

The day ended with the Goodnight of the ILO Provincial, Sister Stefania Saccuman: “This evening, I would like to conclude by inviting everyone to address a prayer to Sister Maria Troncatti, so that she may help us to be artisans of peace.  If Sister Maria Troncatti, who comes from this land is to become a saint, she had the courage to mend relationships and what didn’t work. If from fearful, she became courageous… why not me? Why can’t we be like this together? Like the candles that lit up the path this evening. We illuminated it together by combining our lights. Sister Maria Troncatti inspires us and shows us a concrete sign in this land, because everywhere there is some relationship to mend. May she help us to be artisans of peace like her.”

On the second day, dedicated to the missionary spirit of Sister Maria, the path dedicated to Sister Maria Troncatti was inaugurated, which she followed when she was still a girl to go to the mountain pasture, from the Piangembro area, where she went to buy bread. The path is inserted in the “Path of the Comets” – project promoted by Fr. Alfredo Scaratti, priest of the Diocese of Brescia – and connects the places of the Brescian Saints with a route of approximately 546 km divided into 28 stages which, starting from Corteno Golgi, crosses the three valleys, the capital city, the Brescia plain, covering the entire province of Brescia to arrive in Limone del Garda, birthplace of St. Daniele Comboni.

After the introductory words of Sister Piera Cavaglià, moving was the cutting of the inaugural ribbon of the path “Vamos” so named from the verb that marked the missionary zeal of Sister Maria, carried out by the ILO Provincial together with the Vicar of Ecuador and two Councilors, one of the municipality of Aprica and one of Corteno Golgi.

The afternoon featured as protagonists the members of VIDES Lombardia. After a brief greeting and presentation of the association by the ILO Delegate, Sister Maria Teresa Cocco, the participants were able to delve deeper into its nature and mission. Later, in the town square, some VIDES members talked about their volunteering experience.

The Vicar General of the Diocese of Brescia, Monsignor Gaetano Fontana, presided over the evening Eucharistic Celebration. In his homily, he recalled the importance of missionaries, of men and women who leave as envoys to bring the good news of the Gospel to the world. “What is God’s dream; what is His plan of love? I grasp it from the first reading of this liturgy of the Word, when the prophet Isaiah says, ‘I will come to gather all people and all languages; they will come and see My glory’. This is God’s dream, that all peoples may be one people. May all the men and women of the world may be in communion with Him and with each other. And this communion is created when people are sent in the name of God into the world.”

After an excellent dinner of pizzoccheri, a typical local dish, the Novices brought to the stage the show spettacolo Born to fly, created by them under the direction of Paola Staiano, which allowed us to retrace some significant moments in the history of the Institute and its missionary vocation.

At the end in the Goodnight, Sister Maria Assunta invited everyone to rediscover themselves as missionaries, right where they are. “I believe that we too, here present in person or with desire, can have a missionary heart, following the example of Sister Maria Troncatti and all our missionaries. It is not important to leave for distant lands. What matters is living, wherever we are, with the same love that knows how to approach, welcome, pray, serve, and give our lives for others. Let us also pray like Sister Maria with a missionary heart, ‘The Lord has called me to a high mission; indeed, here is virgin land. Help me with prayer, my field is great; it is very difficult, but Jesus can touch the heart’.”

August 25, dedicated to the motherhood of Sister Maria Troncatti and the day of her birth into Heaven, began with Holy Mass presided over by His Eminence Oscar Cantoni, Cardinal of the Diocese of Como, concelebrated by various priests including the Bishop Emeritus of Gizo, Monsignor Luciano Capelli, and the Provincial of the Lombard-Emilian ILE Province, Fr. Roberto Dal Molin, with his Council.

In his homily, the Cardinal outlined the figure of Sister Maria Troncatti, highlighting her motherhood:

“Mother Troncatti, soon to be declared a saint, is now a great and happy gift for the universal Church, for the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the religious family in which her personal vocation developed. Rooted in the places she inhabited, among the Indians of Ecuador, in the Amazon rainforest, she sowed the Gospel through the tenderness and goodness of her person. She proved to be a mother to such an extent that she was called by the confidential title of madrecita.”

In the early afternoon, the participants gathered for the last time in the amphitheater of the town, where Sister Piera Cavaglià, through some episodes of Sister Maria’s life, deepened her way of being a mother, taking care, not only of the Shuar people, but of all the people she met, especially the most fragile and neediest. (complete text)

At the end of Sister Piera’s presentation, there was no shortage of thanks for all the people who allowed this triduum to be created in honor of the Saint. Everyone truly had their hearts full of gratitude for all the work and for the great availability and welcome of the entire town of Corteno Golgi.

These unforgettable days ended with a visit to the fields where Sister Maria helped her family until the day before leaving for the missions, and with a walk that retraced the path that connects these fields to her native town.

Sister Maria Troncatti was truly a mother, missionary, and artisan of peace and reconciliation. This triduum, which allowed us to delve deeper into her figure, was an excellent preparation for the highly anticipated event of Canonization on October 19^th.

Photos: Flickr FMA