Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Diocesi di Brescia
Macas (Agenzia Fides) – On the occasion of the canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti of the Sisters of Salesian Order, missionary of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), who will be canonized by Pope Leo XIV on World Mission Sunday (October 19, 2025) (see Fides 22/8/2025), the Apostolic Vicar of Méndez (Ecuador), Néstor Vidal Montesdeoca Becerra (SDB), recalls the stages of the beatification and canonization of this religious and missionary, whom he himself proclaims to be a saint of the universal Church. "It is truly admirable how one of the many missionaries who came to proclaim the Gospel in these remote and little-known areas of the country, in the mid-south of the Amazon region, a humble and simple woman, has gradually become a source of holiness and has been recognized by the people as already a true saint," said the Apostolic Vicar in a video for the upcoming canonization of "Madrecita," as she was called by the Shuar Indians of the Amazon rainforest, where she served as a missionary for 44 years.
Bishop Montesdeoca affirmed that the holiness of the nun and missionary "was not demonstrated by spending all day praying, but by the fact that she knew how to reconcile, in her life and work, prayer, the Eucharist, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary with pastoral, missionary, and catechetical work to proclaim the Gospel, but also with the educational work of educating boys and girls to be good Christians and honest citizens, especially those from the mission territory, especially among the Shuar, both in Macas and later in Seville Don Bosco and then in Sucúa."
The Apostolic Vicar of Méndez also emphasizes the relevance of Sister Maria's passionate missionary work, a promoter of human rights "at a time when it was not yet widely discussed" and advocated for women's rights, but above all, was "a promoter and prophet of the peaceful social integration of peoples." (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 25/9/2025)
