Maddalena Morano, Salesian Sister, educator and catechist, was born in Chieri, in the province of Turin, on 15 November 1847. She overcame poverty and hardship to answer the call she felt from God to be a religious sister and a teacher.

Although she knew from an early age that she was called to both religious life and teaching, when her father died, 8-year-old Maddalena had to find work to help her mother support their large family, and it was only with the help of an uncle who was a priest, that she was able to continue her education as she worked. With her family dependent on her earnings, Madeleine could not leave them to enter a religious order, but she was able to begin training as a teacher at the age of 14, when she was employed at a new school close to home, and she gained her teaching certificate five years later.

By the time she was 30, she had supported her younger siblings into adult life, and saved enough to make sure her mother had a comfortable old age, and then she began to pursue her religious vocation. When she met Don Bosco, she was set on living a cloistered life with the Vincentians, but he persuaded her that her gifts were needed in a different life, and he accepted her into the Salesian Sisters shortly after.

In 1881, her superiors sent her to Sicily, where in addition to teaching working class girls, she trained teachers and set up new schools, workshops and hostels. She was also responsible for the formation of new sisters, and became Provincial.

Maddalena died from cancer in 1908, and was beatified by St John Paul II in 1994.

Her memorial is celebrated on her birthday, 15 November.

For more biographical information and downloadable resources, visit sdb.org