- Oldest First
- Title
- Random
- Highest Rated
St Mary Domenica Mazzarello was born in Mornese, Alessandria, Italy on May 9, 1837 to hardworking parents. Her family was not of abundant means, so each day brought with it long days in the vineyards, carefully tending to the delicate vines in the glaring sun…
Mary Mazzarello (1837-1881) was born near Genoa, Italy. She joined the Pious Union of Mary Immaculate while young. It was almost like a religious order, with a rule of its own and a schedule of devotional and charitable works. Thus, when a typhoid epidemic broke out at Mornese in 1860, the Sodalists were asked to take care of the stricken…
She was one of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, a branch of nuns affiliated with the Order of Salesians and founded by Saint John Bosco. Her great apostolate was among motherless girls. She became superioress of her Order…
Maria Mazzarello was born in the last century in a small village called Mornese, in Northern Italy. She was the first of ten children, seven of whom reached adulthood. Maria learnt from a young age how to be a caring and efficient person in the home to her young sisters and brothers.
When she was seventeen years of age she joined a group of young women who helped the parish curate, Fr. Dominico Pestarino, in various activities of the parish: catechism lessons to youth, assistance to the sick, meeting with parents, organisation of leisure activities for youth. Through these experiences Maria was empowered to be a leader amongst those she encountered in her everyday life…
How often, in the history of the saints, the male founder of a religious order of men, has been providentially associated with a saintly woman who has established a parallel order of nuns! One recalls St. Benedict and his own sister, St. Scholastica; St, Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi; St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, to name just a few.
St. Mary Mazzarello was another such. She collaborated with St. John Bosco, the famous Italian educator of boys and founder of the Salesians (1815-1888). Under his direction she would found the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians…
Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello (1837-1881)
Co-Foundress of the Institute of the FMA
Beatified on 20-11-38
Canonized on 24-6-51
The biography of Mary Domenica Mazzarello is brief (44 years). It could be divided into four stages, each characterized by a precise area of maturation in her Christian and consecrated life.
The first stage refers to the first thirteen years, from her birth in Mornese, in Upper Monferrato (1837) to her First Communion (1850). These were years lived in the family, characterized by a solid Christian life and by tireless work as peasants. Intelligent, strong-willed and gifted with a rich affectivity, Mary Domenica undertook her journey of maturing her faith accompanied by her parents and by her wise spiritual director Fr. Domenico Pestarino…
Mary Dominica Mazzarello, the eldest of the seven children of Joseph Mazzarello and Mary Calcagno, was born at
Mornes, a small town in Piedmont, Italy, on May 9, 1837, and she was baptized in the parish church on the same day…
St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello was born in Mornese, Italy on May 9, 1837. Her parents, Joseph and Mary Magdalene, were proud of their eldest daughter. Mary learned common sense and deep faith from her parents. One time, when she was a little girl, Mary asked her father Joseph, “What did God do before He created the world?” Her question says something about her idea of God…she saw God as active and involved. Her father answered, “God contemplated Himself, loved Himself, and was happy with Himself. You see, God is not alone. It’s kind of like, me, you, your mom and your sister, Felicina…we love each other, right? That’s how God is. He loves. That’s what He did before He created the world.”…
Mary Domenica was born on May 9, 1837, in Mornese (Alessandria). At home she was helped to develop a solid piety, untiring work and that outstanding common sense and depth of judgement that she would show in later life as Congregational Leader. At fifteen, she joined the Association of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and began her apostolate among the young people of her village…
Co-foundress of the Daughters of Mary Auxiliatrix or Our Lady Help of Christians and a disciple of St. John Bosco. She was born near Genoa, Italy, and joined the Pious Union of Mary Immaculate while young. Her institute formed slowly, aided by St. John Bosco, despite her bout with typhoid. She was the first superior general in 1872 when St. John Bosco received approval from Pope Pius IX. The Salesian Sisters, as they are called, spread rapidly. By 1900, there were nearly eight hundred foundations. She died on April 27 at Nizza Monferrato and was canonized in 1951 by Pope Pius XII…
A hot Italian sun beat mercilessly on the handful of workers in the rocky field. Mopping the sweat off their well-tanned faces, they labored on, their hands burrowing into the soil, skillfully setting the delicate vines in place and tying them tenderly with wisps of straw onto thin sticks. But it was so hot in the glaring sun! Gradually, one by one, they began edging away toward the shade, till a single girl remained in the field, her sturdy, young body bent firmly over her task, her swift fingers deftly caressing the vines and sealing them into place. Now and then, as a lock of her black hair fell across her eyes, a quick movement of the hand pushed it back into place under a white kerchief – and then immediately back to work! “Mary,” called a friend, “come on in out of the hot sun. It’s much more comfortable here!”…
St Mary Domenica Mazzarello was born in Mornese, Alessandria, Italy on May 9, 1837 to hardworking parents. Her family was not of abundant means, so each day brought with it long days in the vineyards, carefully tending to the delicate vines in the glaring sun.
Mary Mazzarello was know for her cheerful spirit and willingness to help others, even at a cost to herself. She was not without a temper, though! Her quick wit could often turn sour when vexed, and controlling her temper was something, like Don Bosco, she would have to work at all of her life.
When she was fifteen she the Association of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, run by her parish priest, Father Pestarino; it was a precursor to the founding of the Salesian Sisters…
She was born in Mornese, in what is now the province of Alessandria, northern Italy, to a peasant family who worked in a vineyard.
When she was fifteen she joined the Association of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, run by her parish priest, Father Pestarino; it was a precursor to the founding of the Salesian Sisters.
The Daughters were known for their charitable works and Mary soon set herself apart for her sound judgment, dedication, joy, and love of the young. Wherever she went the village children were drawn to her like a magnet, eager to hear her stories, or to ask her a multitude of questions about the Christian faith…
