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This week’s mission hero was a woman who helped spread the faith in the Old West of the United States. Her name in religious life was Blandina Segale.
Rosa Maria Segale was born on January 23, 1850 in Cicagna, Genoa, Italy. When she was 4-years old, her family emigrated to the United States and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was there that Rosa Maria got to know and revere the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati.
When she was 14-years old, she joined the Sisters of Charity and received the name Blandina. She took her first vows on December 8, 1868. Her younger sister, Maria Maddelena, also joined the order and became known as Sr. Justina.
Her first assignments were to teach schools in Steubenville and Dayton, Ohio. But at age 22, Sr. Blandina learned she was being sent as a missionary to Trinidad, Colorado. Later, she would find herself in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In all of these places, she showed herself to be truly a “missionary’s missionary.” No task was too great for her, whether it was confronting governors and state congresses, making peace deals with various Indian tribes, or fighting for the rights of Hispanics who were continually being swindled by the rich and powerful.
She was also an incredible builder. During her missionary days, she built hospitals, schools, orphanages. The most amazing thing of all was that she always started out with zero cash. Fortunately, she made the right connections and possessed singleness of purpose; those combinations, along with her trust in God, made her always successful.
Sr. Blandina also had a great love for the poor and marginalized. One of her most famous friends was Billy the Kid, whom she befriended by serving as his private duty nurse when he had been wounded and left alone to die by others. Billy never forgot the kindness, and at times, Sr. Blandina found herself calling on Billy for favors. Once, for example, Billy set his mind on killing four men for some reason. Sr. Blandina asked that he let them live; he agreed.
Many of Sr. Blandina’s missionary adventures are recorded in her fascinating journal called At the End of the Santa Fe Trail.
When her days as an Old West missionary were finished, Sr. Blandina returned to Cincinnati where she worked with her sister, Sr. Justina, doing home mission work with Italian immigrants.
Sr. Blandina died at the age of 91 on February 23, 1941 in Cincinnati.
Sr. Blandina’s life was featured a couple of times on the CBS series, Death Valley Days. One episode, called “The Fastest Nun in the West,” shows Sr. Blandina’s influence on her friend, Billy the Kid. That episode was hosted by Ronald Reagan, who would one day become Governor of California and President of the United States. The second episode, “Lost Sheep of Trinidad,” also features Sr. Blandina and Billy the Kid.
Today, Sr. Blandina is known as “Servant of God,” first step to canonization.
