English 
Sr. Leontina Cinelli, Sr. Celestina Magni, Sr. Filippa Rota and Sr. Chiara Donzelli were the first Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate to touch the Brazilian soil. They left Genoa on 27 June 1954 and arrived at the port of Santos, in the state of Sao Paulo, on 10 July. Here are some feelings of the departure found in their diaries:
27 June – departure from Genova
We rise at 5 am. We go to the Chapel, but the Holy Mass will be celebrated at 9.30pm, since the Motor ship was anchored in the port.
After the breakfast at 7.30 am, we go ashore and meet our relatives, Rev. M. Vicaria and Sr. M. Benedetta. Time is always tight and at the blink of an eye, it is 11.30. We must leave everyone and everything. The commander announces that the ship is leaving. A final farewell to our loved ones and then we get on board. From the bridge, we observe the final preparations for departure. Sailors who, at given signals, detach the bridges communicating with the quay, others untie the large ropes that hook the motor ship to the port: a siren whistle, a second, a third and the majestic white “Augusta”, at 12 o’clock, slowly moves from the platform so that for a long stretch we can still see our dear Superiors and relatives.
The beautiful and superb Genoa gradually disappears from our gaze, while she was moving. We wanted to say goodbye to the last strip of Italian land, the tom tom calls us for lunch, so we have to leave the bridge; on our return, and we are already skirting the French Riviera.
10 July – arrival in Brazil
We arrived very early in Santos, the main port of the State of S. Paulo. Before entering the port,there is the Mantiqueira greenhouse next to it, which in a flash lets the great one emerge from its top luminary of the day, the sun. In the morning at 4 we are in the Chapel, where a succession of Holy Masses from the altars, at the same time until around 7.30 because almost all the priests disembark. Having had breakfast and given one last look in the cabin to make sure that everything was in the suitcases, in single file by progressive number we go from one office to another in the second-class lounges for the disembarkation procedures, which will last the whole day.
At 6 pm we leave for S. Paulo, we have dinner with the Rev. Fathers of the PIME in Brooklin (outskirts of S. Paolo) who give us a truly paternal welcome and we stay overnight with the Sisters.
16 July – arrival in Pedrinhas
We leave for Pedrinhas by boat at 3 pm. Rev. Fr. Maritano accompanies us. You cannot believe it if you cannot see it. We do not say there are ditches because the road, if you can call it that, is all a ditch. Truly, it was the happiest journey; from time to time, the Piura turned on itself. We pass through Cruzalia, our parish, which is about 10 km from Pedrinhas. Finally, here at a distance, there are some red roofs, white houses scattered here and there in a diameter of 36 km, it gives a restful sense of sheep grazing in a vast tidy meadow, and they are little houses of Italian emigrants. After about 75 km, we arrive in Pedrinhas, in front of our house: everything is so small, it does not matter how tall we are. We also visit the Church, the kindergarten, the hospital.
