Sister Maria Goretti ND 4480 ⇒ PDF Download
Dina DE LUCA
Sacred Heart Delegation, Rome
Date and Place of Birth: July 15, 1923 Mazzano Romano, Italy
Date and Place of Profession: September 8, 1953 Rome
Date and Place of Death: May 11, 2014 Rome, Delegation Center
Date and Place of Burial: May 13, 2014 Rome, Camposanto Verano
Dina was the first of six children of her parents Luigi De Luca and Maria Allegretti. Early in her life she needed to help sustain her family, working in the baths of Vicarello, where she came to know and appreciate the Sisters of Notre Dame.
The pain of loss of loved ones was deeply imprinted into Sister Maria Goretti’s heart. One of her natural sisters died at a tender age, and her father died in Africa during a working commitment when he was only 40 years old.
Looking back over the 90 years of her life, one can really say that it was an adventure that can be described as wonderful, rich, and blessed by the Lord. Her determination to follow Jesus as a Sister of Notre Dame gave her the courage to leave her mother, a widow, her brothers and sisters, and the beloved region of her birth. Sister Maria Goretti followed Jesus in the simplicity and the goodness of her heart, entrusting herself totally to Him and to His divine heart in the joys and the difficulties of life.
The best years of her life were dedicated to children, young people and the families of Carpinone, Turin, Rome, Trevignano Romano, Cadibona, Monteroduni. The region of Monteroduni in Molise, where she spent the longest period of her relgious life, was like her home. She knew and loved everyone, young and old. She was a wise and energetic teacher and educator, active and at the same time prudent and with the attitude of a mother. She brought people to know and to love Jesus, taught them to collaborate, respect and help others.
Her heart went out especially to the less fortunate, the families in need, those who felt lonely and the sick, to whom she faithfully brought Jesus in the Eucharist on Sundays. The priests had a special place in her heart and in her prayer, as well as the Church and religious vocations. She regarded the initiatives and activities in the parish as her own, taking an active part in them with a great sense of responsibility and yet with the feeling never to have done enough.
Sister Maria Goretti had a strong community and missionary spirit, a great love for prayer, for our Congregation and for the German pioneer sisters who planted the seed in Italy.
Her last years in Rome were certainly among the most difficult in her life. She had to adapt to a different rythm of life, felt the absence of her beloved people of Monteroduni, of her apostolate, her children. But also during this phase she showed her love for the priests in crafting liturgical objects with great perfection.
From our hearts a prayer rises up to the good God, that He may grant to our dear Sister Maria Goretti the intimate union of eternal life and joy without end in His reign. We are grateful to the good God to have had her with us for so many years.
R.I.P.
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