MORANO, MADDALENA CATERINA, BL.

Religious of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians; b. Nov. 15, 1847, Chieri (near Turin), Piedmont, Italy; d. March 26, 1908, at Catania, Sicily. Although Maddalena was forced from age eight to help support her family following the deaths of her elder sister and father, she also continued her studies. In 1866, she received her teaching diploma and began her career in a rural school in Montaldo while serving as a catechist in her parish. By 1878, she had saved enough money to provide for her mother's needs. No longer bound to supporting her family financially, she entered the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, founded by (St.) John bosco (1872). In 1881, he sent her to Trecastagni (Catania) to oversee an existing institute and instill Salesian methods in its work. From there Maddalena founded new houses and established new services for the poor on the island. She also coordinated catechetical instruction in eighteen parishes and trained catechists. During her twenty-five years in Sicily, Morano served as local and provincial superior. Her remains now rest in the crypt of the institute at Messina. In 1935, the archdiocesan investigation of Maddalena's cause began. She was beatified at Catania by Pope John Paul II, Nov. 5, 1994.

Feast: Nov. 15.

Bibliography: m. l. mazzarello, ed., Sulle frontiere dell'educazione: Maddalena Morano in Sicilia (Papers presented at various meetings organized by Pontificia Facoltà di scienze dell'educazione "Auxilium") (Rome 1995).

[k. i. rabenstein]