Maria Caterina Troiani

In 1859, responding to the request of Mgr Perpetuo Guasco, Vicar Apostolic of Egypt, who wished to open a school for poor young girls in Cairo, the monastery of Ferentino decided to send a group of missionaries. Sister Maria Caterina Troiani was among the six nuns chosen, under the direction of the superior, Mother Maria Aloisia Castelli. After receiving the blessing of Pope Pius IX in Rome on September 4, 1859, they embarked at Civitavecchia and arrived in Cairo on September 14, 1859. Upon their arrival, they learned of the sudden death of Mgr Guasco, but decided to continue their mission with confidence. They settled in the Clot-Bey district of Cairo, where they opened a school, an orphanage, and a dispensary. They dedicated themselves particularly to the education of poor young girls, the reception of abandoned children, and the redemption of young African slaves (the "morettes"). When Mother Castelli's health declined, Maria Caterina assumed the effective direction of the work. In 1865, the original monastery in Ferentino decided to withdraw from the mission and recalled the sisters to Italy. Refusing to abandon the children of Egypt, Maria Caterina and her companions chose to stay. They reorganized themselves under the Rule of the Third Order of Saint Francis. On November 10, 1868, with the approval of Pope Pius IX and the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, the community was erected as an autonomous institute under the name of Franciscan Tertiaries of Cairo (which would become the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1950). Mother Maria Caterina was its first superior general, a position she would hold until her death. Under her leadership, the institute developed rapidly, opening seven new houses in Egypt (notably in Alexandria, Asyut, Mansoura, Luxor, and Suez). She passed away in Cairo on May 6, 1887, mourned by Christians and Muslims alike, who affectionately called her "Mamma Bianca" (White Mother) because of her kindness and her white habit.

The reputation for holiness of Mother Maria Caterina Troiani spread from the time of her funeral in Cairo. In 1937, the informative process for her cause of beatification was officially opened in Alexandria, before being closed in 1939. Her cause was formally introduced in Rome on June 23, 1944. Her heroic virtues were recognized by Pope John Paul II, who promulgated the corresponding decree on July 12, 1982. In 1967, her mortal remains were transferred from Cairo to the congregation's general house in Rome.

An unexplained healing, attributed to her intercession, was officially recognized as a miracle by a decree promulgated on November 9, 1984. On April 14, 1985, Pope John Paul II celebrated her beatification in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican. The cause for her canonization is still ongoing: the diocesan inquiry into a second alleged miracle was closed on February 3, 2011, and its validity was decreed by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on October 28, 2011.

The spirituality of Maria Caterina Troiani is deeply marked by her contemplative roots and her missionary zeal. Pope John Paul II defined her as a "missionary in enclosure, contemplative in mission." Her action was guided by an absolute trust in Divine Providence, an intense devotion to the Sacred Heart, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to Saint Joseph. Her legacy endures today through the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who continue her work of education, social assistance, and evangelization in many countries, notably in Italy, Egypt, the Middle East (Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Syria), the United States, and Africa.