On Sunday 31 May, at Villa Boschetto in Monza, the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate celebrated their Feast of Gratitude to mark an important milestone: the congregation’s 90th anniversary. The chosen theme — Preserving memory, living in the present and embracing the future — provided the central theme for a simple and festive day, which brought together sisters, family members and friends to reflect on a journey that began as a dream and became a story of mission.
From the moment they arrived in the morning, visitors were able to stop and browse the stands set up for the occasion, which explored the three aspects of the theme. The display panels brought the figures of the founders to life: the young Giuseppina Rodolfi, who imagined the mission as a boundless field where the sower scatters his seed far and wide; Mother Giuseppina Dones, a spiritual guide of essential and steadfast faith — ‘if God wills it, it shall be done’; Father Paolo Manna, who urged them to be “a missionary congregation in the broadest and highest sense of the word”; and Mgr. Lorenzo M. Balconi, a pillar of support during the congregation’s early days. Alongside these memories, photos from the present showed the sisters at work across the five continents, inspired by the certainty that the Lord “always chooses humble people to show that it is He who works”.
Holy Mass was the central and most solemn part of the day, during which the religious profession anniversaries of several sisters were celebrated: from Sr. Edvige to the 25th anniversaries of Sr. Emanuela and Sr. Simona, including the 60th anniversaries of Sr. Giulia, Sr. Maura, Sr. Celina, Sr. Ernestina, Sr. Fabiana and Sr. Cecilia, and the 50th anniversary of Sr. Annamaria. A long thread of fidelity and self-giving that the community wished to celebrate with gratitude. The buffet lunch and the cutting of the cake then provided a convivial and affectionate moment; this was followed by great anticipation for the prize draw — the winners of which are listed in the attached document — before the afternoon concluded with a dance performance that delighted the entire gathering.
