On the night of 11–12 June 2026, just as the Church was celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, our dear Sr Giacomina (Giuseppina) Armici returned to the Father’s house. At the age of 87, after a life entirely devoted to the Gospel in both Italy and Brazil, Sr Giacomina leaves us a testimony of everyday holiness characterised by patience, gentleness and, above all, by her profound sense of being a ‘universal sister’.
A vocation born of sacrifice and patience
Born in Castelli Calepio (Bergamo) in 1939, Giuseppina felt her heart drawn to the mission as early as the age of 14, having been deeply moved by the life of Father Damiano of Molokai. However, life immediately called for an act of patience on her part: the sudden death of her father forced her to put her dream on hold in order to help her family, working in a suitcase factory.
It was during a pilgrimage to Lourdes that, in her memoirs, Sr Giacomina recorded a resolution that would shape her entire life:
“When I asked if the nuns were good, someone replied: ‘Not always; sometimes they lose their patience.’ And I thought to myself, if I become a nun, I will try to be patient.”
This promise came to fruition during the forty years she spent in Brazil (from 1970 to 2010), where she faced enormous challenges: from teaching children with disabilities in Assis, to living in the stilt houses of Macapá, right through to her mission amongst the poor of Mato Grosso. Her patience was not resignation, but a gentle strength that enabled her to start afresh each time, with a suitcase always packed and her ‘foot on the door’ ready to set off wherever the Lord called her.
The gentle and welcoming ‘Universal Sister’
Durante la festa della mamma. Sr. Giacomina Armici e sr. Celestina Magni conducono la festa.
As well as patience and gentleness — which her fellow sisters describe as a “gentle smile that speaks of the Father’s love” — the trait that best defines Sr Giacomina is her spirit of being a universal sister. She herself writes this clearly in her spiritual testament:
“I have always felt, amongst everyone, like ‘a universal sister’, as a Pope once said, and therefore ‘in my rightful place’.”
This sense of being “in her rightful place” wherever there was a need led her to be a presence of peace both in the Brazilian favelas and, in recent years, in Cornuda and Monza. In Brazil, she became “the voice of the voiceless” during the strikes for social justice in Caracol; in Italy, inspired by the teachings of Pope Francis, she sought out the “existential peripheries” amongst lonely elderly people, organising pilgrimages and visits for them. Her capacity for love was so vast that her heart expanded to embrace every new face she encountered, ensuring she was “loved in return” wherever she went.
The final destination: joy in the midst of sorrow
Even when her illness — diabetes mellitus with serious complications — confined her first to a wheelchair and then to bed, Sr Giacomina never lost her serenity.
In her diary, looking back on the end of her earthly pilgrimage, she wrote with confidence:
“I feel that the little boat of my life, guided by Jesus, is near the other side of the lake and is now drawing in; I hope, through Jesus’ goodness and mercy, to enter the House of our Heavenly Father”.
Now that little boat has reached its harbour. We thank the Lord for the gift of this missionary woman, who was able to transform suffering into a generous ‘yes’ and to proclaim, right up to her last breath, the Gospel of Joy.
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- Gruppo di sorelle della comunità di Vila Missionaria. Sr. Naia, sr. Giacomina, sr. Odete, sr. Benilda, sr. Teresinha e altre
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- momento di preghiera in una comunità di base a Bragança Paulista nel 1986. Sr Giacomina Armici e sr. ?
