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Today’s missionary hero is Blessed Maria Troncatti.
Maria was born on February 16, 1883 in Corteno Golgi, Brescia, Italy into a poor farming family. Though she wanted to become a Religious Sister from an early age, her priest advised her to wait until she was a young adult. She followed his advice.
In 1905, when she was around 22-years old, Maria joined the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco (F.M.A.). In 1909, Sr. Maria contacted a serious infection and later typhoid. Blessed Michael Rua, often called the “Second Father of the Salesian Order,” visited Maria in her sickness and anointed her.
Sister Maria did recover, and in 1915 she passed a special course in nursing. In World War I (1915-1918), Sr. Maria tended wounded soldiers in the military hospital as a Red Cross nurse. The experiences she gained there would prove to be invaluable to her future life as a missionary sister in South America.
On November 9, 1922, Sr. Maria was sent as a missionary to work with the Shuar tribe in the Amazon forest of Ecuador. The tribal people called her “Mamacita.”
Right off the bat, Sr. Maria ran into trouble when the daughter of the tribal chief was shot in a crossfire between two warring tribes. The chief told Sr. Maria that if she did not save his daughter’s life, he would kill Maria. Sr. Maria operated on the girl, and the girl recovered. The natives were very impressed, and that opened the way for Sister to bring the Catholic Christian faith to the people.
From 1922 to 1969, Sr. Maria Troncatti served the people as a catechist. She also played the roles of surgeon, anesthetist, dentist, orthopedist, and, of course, nurse during the many years she served the people.
As a result of her work, many people were baptized and faithfully practiced their Faith.
On August 25, 1969, Sr. Maria boarded a plane with two other Sisters to fly to Quito for their annual retreat. Unfortunately, the plane crashed. Sister Maria was killed in the crash, but the other two Sisters survived.
Sr. Maria was beatified on November 24, 2012 in Macas, Ecuador. Blessed Maria Troncatti’s feast day is August 25th. She is one of the patron saints of nurses and missionaries.
