In the afternoon of Saturday, 10 August, our dear Sister Annunziata, who had been in the Motherhouse infirmary for some years, expressed her wish to be laid on the bed. About two hours earlier, at her request, she had got up and sat in her favourite chair. The nurses, who had been paying particular attention to her for some days, immediately said that it would be good to call a priest, because the doctor who had visited her the day before, foretold that the end would come soon.
Sr. Annunziata received the sacrament of the 'Anointing of the Sick' with full awareness and alertness, attempting to participate in the prayers, though only slightly able to move her lips. Her breathing then gradually slowed until it ceased at 8:38pm. Her face remained beautiful, peaceful, and serene, as if she was simply sleeping.
Sr. Annunziata, born on 18 February 1927 in San Cataldo, Sicily, entered the Congregation at the age of 19 and the generosity of that first step taken from Sicily to Romagna marked her entire life. Having completed the period of formation, on 4 January 1950 Sr. Annunziata made her temporary Profession and on 24 September 1953 made her perpetual Profession in the hands of the then Superior General Mother Vittoria Cozzani, whom she always remembered with much veneration and affection.
After her first Profession, she began her apostolic service. She initially worked in the orphanages of Bibbiena, Ciola, and Fabiano, where she was consistently entrusted with the care of the youngest children. She later worked in the nursery schools of Bocca di Magra, Terra del Sole, San Piero in Bagno, Sarsina, and, finally, in Cardeto, where the Congregation had opened a small house for our ailing sisters. She was sent there as a cook and also to provide little assistance to the sisters, whom she was always ready to support and encourage.
Although Sr. Annunziata’s character was somewhat haughty and occasionally rough, her profound generosity and goodness counterbalanced this. Therefore, she was well-liked by her co-sisters wherever she served, leaving behind a lasting legacy of true kindness. She spent several years in Sarsina with Sr. Colomba Boghi, later followed her to Cardeto and, finally, to the Mother House in Lugo.
Sr. Colomba was a kind and generous sister, always ready and willing to assist anyone in need. However, she was also a bit disorganized, and wherever she went, disorder often prevailed. Sr. Annunziata, tried to put some order without ever hindering Sr. Colomba's acts of charity, rather, she wholeheartedly embraced and contributed towards it.
Availability and silent generosity were her hallmarks, and she never sought for any recognition. She was by nature, industrious and resourceful, always looking for something to do, and even in the last years of her life, when she was already in the infirmary, several sisters approached her for minor sew up. Slowly, her hands began to struggle to handle the needle and her eyesight was also rather diminished, so her main activity became prayer. She spent a lot of time in the chapel of the infirmary and when she was in her room she listened and prayed with ‘Marian Radio’.
Until the final day of her life, she expressed her gratitude to the nurses who cared for her, as well as to those who visited her, always offering a kind word whenever she deemed it appropriate. Now, she has gone to the Father’s house, and she, who truly loved her fellow sisters and the Congregation, will continue to intercede for all of us and for her loved ones in heaven.
Mother Mariarita Foli