18 October 2025

(ANS - Rome) - The life of Saint Maria Troncatti, a woman from the mountains who became a missionary in the Amazon, speaks powerfully to our times. Her experience, despite her humble origins, offers concrete answers to the questions that permeate our era: how to live a meaningful life? How to exercise authentic leadership? How to build bridges in a fragmented society?

CONSISTENCY AS THE FOUNDATION OF ACTION

Maria discovered her vocation through reading the Salesian Bulletin. It was a spark that ignited a deep awareness, maturing into a decision that would shape her entire existence. The choice involved significant personal costs, yet Maria understood an essential truth: "One gives oneself once and for all." This first message challenges us directly: when we identify what gives meaning to our actions, we must live it with total consistency, without compromises that empty it of its substance. Maria also found meaning in seemingly marginal daily actions, teaching us that excellence does not consist in performing extraordinary deeds, but in facing ordinary responsibilities with extraordinary dedication.

PROACTIVITY AS AN EXPRESSION OF RESPONSIBILITY

"Let's go, I'll be right there" was Maria's constant response. At any time, in any condition, she made herself available. She did not wait passively for needs to arise: she anticipated them, intercepted them, addressed them. When she arrived in Ecuador, she declared: "I am going with all my heart: my thoughts are always on the mission." That "with all my heart" is a distinctive element of effective action: one does not work with lukewarmness or detachment. Whatever our area of responsibility, it requires a total investment of our energy and passion. Faced with the exceptional results of her medical care, Maria remained lucid and humble: "It is God who does everything. I pray and He heals. I am nothing." This awareness brings us back to a fundamental truth: we are instruments at the service of something greater, collaborators in promoting more humane, healthy and relationally rich contexts. Her programme was clear: "A big heart, a mother's heart... a heart that is more good than just." In a context often characterised by cynicism and harshness, this represents a challenge that goes against the grain: to act with generosity, with an understanding that goes beyond the mere application of rules, with a genuine willingness to give of oneself for the common good.

PEACE-BUILDING AS A CONCRETE CHOICE

In the Amazon rainforest, Maria found herself immersed in violent conflicts between settlers and indigenous peoples. She deliberately chose to be a mediator, to build dialogue, to offer reconciliation. She did so concretely, caring for everyone without distinction. Maria did not present herself as a figure without limits. She honestly acknowledged, "I am not good, but I want to be holy." She admitted her own impetuous character, but worked constantly to transform it. This message is liberating: it is not necessary to be perfect in order to act in a meaningful way. It is necessary to sincerely want to grow, improve, and transform oneself. This process of authenticity generates credible witness. In various critical situations, Maria communicates a determination that is the fruit of a mature personality. This quality speaks to us in a very personal way: in an age characterised by widespread uncertainty and fear, we need the courage to be consistent. Not the courage of the reckless, but of those who, while aware of the risks, choose to act according to their values. Her strength drew from the spiritual dimension, from prayer, from the Eucharist. If we want to bring about authentic transformation, we must cultivate that inner dimension that grounds and guides us.

THE CALL THAT RESOUNDS TODAY

When children were brought to her who, according to the 'law of the forest', had to die, Maria proclaimed: 'I will cry out to the four winds: bring them all to me! I will be a mother to them!'. Today that voice resounds as a universal call: we are called to defend the value of every person, to oppose the culture of waste, to bear witness that love is stronger than hatred, that peace is possible, that it is worth investing our lives for others. Maria concluded her existence by saying: "I have nothing to give but myself." And that was more than enough. When you give everything with authenticity, that offering generates fruits that exceed all expectations.

THE MESSAGE OF SISTER MARIA TRONCATTI

The life of Sister Maria Troncatti tells us today that authenticity, courage, total dedication and the ability to build bridges are not abstract qualities, but concrete daily choices. Each of us has a unique and unrepeatable contribution to offer. We are called to discover this specific contribution and to realize it with intelligence, courage and hope. Not as imitations of other models, but as authentic people who, in their uniqueness, know how to respond to the challenges of their time with the same radicalism and dedication that characterised Maria Troncatti: a woman of faith, a missionary, a peacemaker.

-  Fr Fabio Attard, Sdb – Rector Major

(Message at the Opening of the Celebrations for the Canonisation of Sister Maria Troncatti, FMA)