Blessed Maria Francesca of Jesus Rubatto came from an Italian family of 8 children. At the age of four, her father died. She received an offer of marriage when she was a teenager, but she had taken a vow of virginity when she was younger and decline. Her mother died and when she was nineteen years old, Maria moved to Turin. She taught catechism to a noblewoman’s children as well as other children in the city and visited the sick and the poor. A construction worker who was building a convent had an accident and Maria happened to be walking nearby. She gave him money to aid his recovery and helped him. Her act of charity caught the attention of the sisters of the convent and they asked if she will join their community which she accepted. She later became the superior of the Capuchin Franciscan sisters. She then became interested in overseas missions and in 1892 left Italy to South America. She founded the Catholic missions in Uruguay and Argentina, crossing the Atlantic Ocean seven times in the process.
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| Image: Blessed Anna Maria Rubatto |
