Sucúa (Ecuador). On 19 July 2025, with great faith, solemnity, and gratitude, Sacred Heart Province (ECU) celebrated in the Parish of Mary Help of Christians of the Canton of Sucua, the Eucharist to close the process of canonical recognition and conservation of the relics of Blessed Maria Troncatti (1883-1969), in the context of the journey towards her canonization.
The event brought together civil and ecclesiastical authorities, members of the canonical tribunal, priests and religious of the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez, as well as a large number of faithful. The celebration was streamed live, allowing many more people to join spiritually from different places.
The Eucharist was presided by Msgr. Néstor Montesdeoca, Salesian of Don Bosco, Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez (VAM), who in his homily highlighted the role of the Blessed as educator, catechist, nurse, and mother for the most disadvantaged; her courage in promoting reconciliation and peace between the Shuar peoples and the Settlers, as well as her deep love for the Eucharist, her trust in Mary Help of Christians, and her spiritual motherhood.
“For the Salesian Family, for the FMA Institute, for the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez, for the Church in Ecuador, and for the universal Church… This is great news!” he said.
He also invited those present to make two concrete commitments:
- Imitate the holiness of Sister Maria Troncatti, moving from joy to a life commitment: living with simplicity, putting time, gifts, and existence itself at the service of others, especially the neediest.
- Spread her devotion and make her known in Ecuador and in the world.
At the end of the Celebration, the Mayor of the Canton of Sucúa, Sebastián Rodríguez, publicly expressed his joy for the upcoming canonization and his desire to support this great event.
Subsequently, Sister Norma Reyes, FMA, notary of the canonical court, read the closing act of the process of Canonical Recognition and Conservative Treatment of the Relics of Sister Troncatti. The eight members of the tribunal – Fr. Daniel Tobar Galarza, episcopal delegate; Fr. Luciano Bellini, SDB, promoter of justice; Sister Norma Reyes, FMA, notary; Dr. Paolo Fabián Castelo Chalpabay, medical expert; Deacon Luciano Griggio, conservation technician; Sister Elena Tinitana, FMA and Sister Rosa Molina, FMA, witnesses; and Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB, postulator of the cause – then signed the official parchment, which was solemnly placed in the urn that guards the relics of the Blessed.
With this action of gratitude, an important ecclesial process is concluded and the call to daily holiness, mission, and active hope is rekindled throughout the community, inspired by the shining example of Sister Maria Troncatti: Mother and missionary, woman of reconciliation and living witness to the Gospel in the peripheries of the world.
