Sister Maria Janete ND 4873 PDF Download
Elizabeth TOMAZI
Nossa Senhora Aparecida Province, Canoas, RS – Brazil
Date and Place of Birth: July 07, 1930 Ivorá – Júlio de Castilhos
Date and Place of Profession: February 10, 1956 Passo Fundo, RS
Date and Place of Death: July 07, 2020 Recanto Aparecida, Canoas, RS
Date and Place of Burial: July 08, 2020 Convent Cemetery, Canoas, RS
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest!” Matthew 9:37-38
“Elizabeth Tomazi is a girl of exemplary behavior and comes from a profoundly Christian family, giving signs of a sincere vocation and that she will be a good religious sister”. These are the words Fr. Paulo Bortolini, parish priest of the former Nossa Senhora da Saúde church, wrote in his testimonial for Elizabeth´s entrance into Notre Dame in 1953. These words offered a foresight into what she would become: a genuinely good woman religious.
The daughter of José Tomazi and Josephina Zanon Tomazi, Elizabeth is the sixth of 10 children in this large family. She grew up on a farm with her siblings helping her parents with household chores and other activities to support the family.
At the age of 22, summoned by the Lord of the harvest, she responded by placing her life at the service of the Kingdom of God. She started her postulancy with the Sisters of Notre Dame, Passo Fundo, in 1953. The following year, at her investment, she received the name of Sister Maria Janete.
For many years she served in schools, seminaries and nursing homes, mainly working in the kitchen and doing other services. She always left her imprint of kindness and commitment in whatever she did. Her efforts and dedication to improve her skills contributed to better carrying out her ministries.
She was one of the pioneers at the Rosinha Borges Elderly Home (Caçapava do Sul), where she served from 1958 to 1981. In this ministry, Sister M. Janete faced many challenges since the institution was in great need of financial and human resources. Sister was engaged in many activities. In addition to housework and the care for the elderly, Sister drove a van to different businesses in the town asking for donations for the elderly home. She organized a monthly Mass in the Santa Rita Chapel attached to the elderly home, which became an opportunity to collect food and other supplies for the institution. In her creativity, she cultivated flowers to sell in the town in order to obtain funds for the elderly home. Sister also dedicated her time to promote vocations, to visit candidates to religious life and to encourage them to follow Jesus.
In 1997, Sister was performing her usual kitchen, garden and pastoral work in Campos Novos, SC, when she was attacked. One day when she was working in her vegetable garden, she received an unexpected visitor who nervously told her that his wife had left home. When she asked some questions, the man stabbed her six times. The neighborhood residents attributed her survival to the protection of the hand of God. This attack triggered several physical and emotional health issues in Sr. M. Janete´s life.
Despite the shock, Sister carried on her ministry with courage, joy, and faith in the goodness and providence of God. In 2013, Sister moved to Recanto Aparecida, in Canoas, for health care purposes.
Possessing a genuine vocation and being an authentic woman religious even after having suffered physical aggression, she never failed to make the good God known and loved. On her birthday, July 7, God called her into his Kingdom of light and peace. She completed her 90-year journey in the tender embrace of the Father. We thank Sister M. Janete for her witness of a life of faith, joyful simplicity, and kindness.
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