Bishop highlights Holiness of Sr. María Troncatti, Futura Santa Salesiana

On the way to the canonization of Sr. María Troncatti, Missionary Salesian who will be proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV on October 19, World Day of Missions, the Church in Ecuador lives with joy and hope this universal event.

In this context, the Historical-Spiritual-Liturgical Commission published on September 25 a new monthly video on the figure of the Blessed. On this occasion Mons. Néstor Vidal Montesdeoca Becerra, Salesiano de Don Bosco and Apostolic Vicar of Méndez, stressed the transcendence and holiness of the future holy that today “shines with greater glow.”

The bishop, who has closely accompanied the stages of the process, said: “As a bishop of this apostolic vicariate, who has had to live more closely the last stages of the beatification process towards the canonization of Sr. María Troncatti, I can say that the figure and seal of holiness that she printed throughout her life has always increased more.”

He recalled that beatification in 2012 was a milestone for the entire Church: “Once the beatification was reached, this was as an explosion of enthusiasm, of joy, a discovered a hidden treasure that the Vicariate had had and that little by little he was made known.”

A holiness star for the universal church

Sr. María Troncatti was born in Brescia, Italy, in 1883. During World War I he conducted health care courses in Varazze and worked as a Red Cross nurse at the Military Hospital: an experience that would later help her in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

He left Ecuador in 1922, sent among the indigenous Shuar, where with two other religious begins a difficult work of evangelization amid risks of all kinds. His work for the promotion of the Shuar woman flourished in hundreds of new Christian families, formed for the first time in the free choice of young husbands.

Sr. María died in a plane crash in Sucua on August 25, 1969, offering her life for reconciliation between settlers and indigenous people. It was declared venerable on November 8, 2008 and beatified in November 2012.

Mons. Montesdeoca stressed that the path traveled from beatification to this 2025 has allowed us to understand the universal dimension of the Italian religious: “There has been a whole way in our church to know this figure, to appreciate it, to assess it and to admire that this humble and simple woman has been a Star of holiness a little hiddenbut now Start shocking with greater brightness”.

The bishop highlighted the actuality of Sr. María’s testimony, who knew how to combine prayer, mission and service: “That holiness manifested not because he passed by praying all day, but because he knew how to harmoniously combine prayer, the Eucharist and devotion to the Blessed Virgin with the pastoral, missionary, catechistic and educational work.”

“In addition, she was a professional nurse and used her knowledge to support people’s health,” he adds.

Defender of human dignity and promoter of peace

The Apostolic Vicar recalled that the Salesian missionary was a prophet of her time: “She was a flag bearer of the defense of human rights at a time when there was not much talk about it. He defended the right to life, respect for the dignity of each person and equal conditions, without racism.”

He also stressed that he promoted the promotion of women “in a time of much machismo, both on the Shuar side and on the side of the settlers.” “She projected the figure of the mother who protects and promoted women, helping them to prepare for life, religious, pastoral or professional life.”

He also stressed the value of his final delivery: “Sr. Maria offered God as a victim so that peace returned between settlers and Shuar. And a few days later, the accident happened in which he lost his life. From his death the social tension was calmed down. That is why we can say that she was promoter of the integration and social peace of the peoples.”

Finally, Mons. Montesdeoca stressed that the maternal feature is key to understanding her legacy: “She was seen as everyone’s mother, of the missionaries, of the settlers, of the Shuar. That spiritual maternity is also a sign of what should be the role of a missionary today: to spend her life for the material and spiritual good of her children.”