This miraculous healing made Sister Maria Troncatti a saint

Sister Maria Troncatti, a missionary of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, was canonized by Pope Leo XIV on October 19, 2025, during World Mission Day.

Here, we share with you the miracle that led to the canonization of the woman whom the Shuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon called “Madrecita” (“Little Mother”).

In February 2015, in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, Juwa Bosco, a farmer and carpenter from the Shuar people, was the victim of a serious accident. A metal piece from the blade of his machete broke off and fractured his skull.

He was rushed to the hospital in Ambato in serious condition. His prognosis was grim: severe head trauma, loss of brain matter, hemiplegia... The doctors believed that even if he survived, he would be severely disabled.

After emergency surgery, he remained with left-side hemiplegia and was unable to speak. His distraught family decided to invoke the intercession of Sister Maria Troncatti, an Italian missionary who had devoted her entire life to the Amazonian people. Her portrait was even placed in the patient's room.

He remained in a coma for three months, while his family continued to pray for him. In April, still in a coma, Juwa had a powerful vision. Sister Maria appeared to him, touched him gently, and assured him that he would recover, and that he would be able to walk and talk again. She massaged his neck and left leg with an ointment.

The next day, he woke up, and he immediately felt better. He tried to speak, calling out to his wife, Natalina. During the day, they prayed the Rosary together. The next day, he tried to get up. He was walking again! For him, it was certain: Sister Maria Troncatti had healed him. His recovery was rapid and complete.

A few days later, he went with his brother-in-law to the Cathedral of Our Lady Most Pure in Macas, and returned there alone on July 6, 2015, to participate in the Eucharist. For the doctor who operated on him, this healing is inexplicable. Deemed miraculous by Pope Francis in November 2024, it paved the way for the canonization of Saint Maria Troncatti.  

Born in Brescia, Italy, in 1883, Sister Maria Troncatti joined the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco in 1909. They are a religious community dedicated to the education and support of young people, especially the most disadvantaged.

A few years later, in 1922, she left for South America. There, she chose to settle in Ecuador, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. She lived among the Shuar people, an indigenous community that is often marginalized and lives in difficult conditions.

Sharing the living conditions of those to whom she was sent, she worked to advance the rights of Shuar women. She went out to meet the indigenous people to help, care for, and save them. 

Bishop Néstor Vidal Montesdeoca Becerra, a Salesian of Don Bosco, is the Vicar Apostolic of Méndez (Ecuador). In a video released by the Missionaries of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, he notes that Sister Maria Troncatti's holiness was manifested in “her ability, in her life and work, to harmoniously combine prayer, the Eucharist, and devotion to the Virgin Mary with pastoral, missionary, and catechetical work to proclaim the Gospel, but also with educational work aimed at forming children to be good Christians and honest citizens, especially those in the area of the mission.” 

For her maternal spirit, she was christened “Madrecita” by the Shuar people, to whom she devoted 44 years of her life. Sister Maria died in a plane crash in Sucúa on August 25, 1969, after working for reconciliation between settlers and indigenous peoples.

She was declared venerable on November 8, 2008, and beatified in November 2012. Pope Leo XIV canonized her on October 19, 2025. She is the fifth canonized saint from Ecuador.