Maddalena Caterina Morano (15 November 1847 - 26 March 1908) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious who was a member of the Salesian Sisters. Morano served as an educator for her entire life believing it to be her vocation; she served as a catechist in addition to being an educator. Morano was beatified in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

on 5 November 1994 during the occasion of the visit of Pope John Paul II to two Sicilian cities.

Life

Maddalena Caterina Morano was born on 15 November 1847 as the sixth of eight children to Francesco Morano. Her father and older sister both died in 1855 after the death of five brothers. The death of her father and six of her siblings meant that Morano became the sole breadwinner of the household. Her priest uncle guided her studies while she acted as the sole provider for the household. At the age of fourteen, the pastor of

Buttigliera d'Asti Buttigliera d'Asti is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northwest of Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) ...

opened an educational center for children and she was hired as a teacher. In 1866 she graduated as a teacher and wanted to enter religious life but was denied this due to the dependence her surviving siblings and mother had on her. Despite this she worked for just over a decade until 1878 as a teacher in Montaldo; she also taught

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

in her local parish. Morano confessed to her mother in 1877 that she wanted to become a nun but her mother could not support herself if Morano left her. At the age of 30, the

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both Roman ...

rejected her desire to become a cloistered nun. Morano had enough to insure her mother's future in 1878 and so made it a focus of her aspirations to enter the religious life. John Bosco accepted her in joining the Salesians and she made her solemn profession on 4 September 1879; the two met as Morano was walking to Buttigliera d'Asti. Bosco dissuaded her from being a cloistered nun and asked Giovanni Cagliero to invite her into Bosco's order. She made her perpetual vows in 1880. In 1881 - at the request of the

Archbishop of Catania The Archdiocese of Catania ( la, Archidioecesis Catanensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic territory in Sicily, southern Italy, with its seat in Catania. It was elevated to an archdiocese in 1859, and became a metropolitan see in 2000. Its suff ...

- tasked her with new work where she would teach as well as wash and cook. In 1881 she travelled to

Trecastagni Trecastagni ( scn, Triccastagni) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about north of Catania. Trecastagni borders the following municipaliti ...

and took charge of an existing institute for women; she instilled within it the principles of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Salesian Sisters. She also opened new homes and set up after-school activities in addition to training new teachers. Morano died on 26 March 1908 of cancer. At her death there were eighteen Sicilian houses she opened with 142 sisters as well as 20 novices and 9 postulants. Her remains were at Ali Terme in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

until 12 September 1939 when her remains were transferred to a Messina church the Salesians managed.

Beatification

The beatification process commenced in Catania on 12 July 1935 and spanned until 20 January 1942 in which a collation of documentation was collated in order to attest to Morano's life and her virtues as well as her works in the name of God. A rogatory process was then held in Turin which spanned from 18 February 1936 to 6 July 1936 and another rogatory process in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

was held from 14 December 1936 to 28 December 1936. One final process - a supplementary process - was held from 20 November 1947 to 12 July 1952. The apostolic process was dispensed as it was not required. The decree on all of her writings - vital to investigate her work and spiritual life - was approved and thus signed as being a valid addition to the cause on 29 May 1958. The

Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congregation was charged with the ...

, under

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

, formally opened the cause on 23 April 1942, granting her the posthumous title of

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

. The Congregation of Rites decreed all the processes held were valid and approved them on 19 June 1970. The postulation compiled and submitted the Positio to Rome in 1978 and allowed Pope John Paul II to proclaim her to be Venerable on 1 September 1988 on the account of her life of heroic virtue. The miracle needed for her beatification was investigated and was decreed to be a valid and thorough investigation on 19 June 1992. The pope approved it in 1994 and allowed for her beatification to be celebrated on 5 November 1994. The present

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

is Pierluigi Cameroni.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morano, Maddalena Caterina 1847 births 1908 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Deaths from cancer in Sicily Italian beatified people Italian schoolteachers Religious leaders from Turin Spiritual teachers 19th-century Italian women educators 19th-century Italian educators Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II