Vatican City (Fides Service) - Maria Domenica Mantovani, the first of four children was born at Castelletto di Brenzone, Verona, Italy, on 12 November 1862 and baptised the following day. After primary school she was unable to continue her schooling because the family was poor. Her lack of scholastic culture was compensated by her gifts of intelligence, will and great practical sense. At the basis of her profound religious feelings there was testimony of parents, other families, simple hardworking people, honest and rich in faith.
Home, school and church were the training grounds in which her character was formed. She lived in the family until she was thirty. Already as a girl she was an apostle to her friends forming them in the virtue of good reading and above all through the example of her life style.
She was 15 when blessed Giuseppe Nascimbeni arrived in Castelletto, first as a teacher and co-operator and then as a parish priest. From then on he became her spiritual director and Maria Domenica his most generous collaborator in the many activities of the parish: she was the soul of the youth of the whole town, she devoted herself with zeal to teaching catechism, and was assiduous in her assistance to the poor and the sick.
Singularly devoted to Immaculate Mary, on 8 December 1886 she made a vow of perpetual virginity. Blessed Nascimbeni wanted her to be his collaborator to found the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family (6 November 1982): so she became the co-founder and first General Superior. In parish activities and the governing of the Institute the Servant of God was a singular assistant to the Founder to whom she was always devoted and faithful executor of his projects and desires. She made a substantial contribution to drafting the Constitutions, inspired by the rule of the Third Regular Order of St Francis and in the formation of the Sisters. Her collaboration and her witness of irreproachable life style helped the development and expansion of the Institute.
Her writings show her qualities of a loving good mother, a wise and illuminated mistress, zealous and often demanding for the true good. When the Founder died with great wisdom and prudence she continued to guide the Institute with strength of soul, great trust in God and a profound sense of responsibility.
Before she died she had the consolation of obtaining approval of the Constitutions, ad septennium of the Institute and of seeing the work carried on by about 1,200 Sisters in 150 homes in Italy and abroad, intent in a variety of apostolic and charitable works. The servant of God, at the end of her days, advanced along the path of holiness, giving proof of many virtues, especially humility. On 2 February 1934, after a few days of illness her shining earthly day came to a close.
At present the Congregation has 940 Sisters in 150 communities, devoted to family pastoral, education, health-care, care of the elderly and various other forms of apostolate connected with New Evangelisation. The Sisters are also working in Switzerland, Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Angola. SL (Fides Service 24/4/2003 EM lines 39 Words: 538)