Sister Filomena Alicandro, \u201cmore Bengali than the Bengalis themselves,\u201d passed away in Monza on June 8, 2026 after dedicating 56 years of her life to the mission in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
Born in the province of Latina in 1937, Sister Filomena left for this land a year before making her final profession in 1967. At that time, Bangladesh did not exist; it was not a separate People\u2019s Republic, but part of East Pakistan. Everywhere, eyes focused on poverty and backwardness: “Children in rural villages did not go to school, women were treated like servants at home and counted for nothing in society.” Sister Filomena was a pioneering figure in this environment, capable of transforming her vocation into a tireless service for the emancipation of the poorest, as well as a welcoming and active presence during the war of independence from Pakistan.<\/p>\n
She chose from an early age to live her vocation among the people and with the people: for ten years, she lived in a mud house to share the hardships of the local population, until an attempted break-in by strangers through a hole in the wall convinced her to move into a brick dwelling. She also learned Bengali on her own, listening to the girls at the Bonpara hostel, her first destination.<\/p>\n\n\t\t