Maria Laura Mainetti

Sister Maria Laura dedicated her life to the education and accompaniment of children, young people, and families in difficulty. She taught in several Italian cities: Vasto, Rome, Parma, and then settled in Chiavenna in 1984, where she became the community superior in 1987. There, she directed a boarding school for young girls and devoted herself to fragile and disoriented adolescents. Her congregation, founded in France by Saint André-Hubert Fournet and Saint Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges, has as its charism evangelical simplicity and the service of the poor through teaching and the care of the sick.

On the evening of June 6, 2000, Sister Maria Laura was lured into an ambush by three teenagers from Chiavenna (Ambra Gianasso, Milena De Giambattista, and Veronica Pietrobelli) under the pretext of helping a pregnant girl. Fascinated by Satanism, they attacked her savagely on a dark path with stones and a knife. As she was dying, Sister Maria Laura knelt and prayed for her murderers, saying: "Lord, forgive them!"—words that would profoundly shake the three culprits.

The beatification process was opened in the Diocese of Como. On June 19, 2020, Pope Francis recognized her martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith), dispensing with the requirement for a miracle. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 6, 2021, at the Stadio Comunale in Chiavenna, presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro on behalf of Pope Francis. Her liturgical memorial is set for June 6.

The spirituality of Maria Laura Mainetti is centered on the mystery of the Cross and the search for "true charity," which she requested as a grace during her perpetual profession. She saw Christ in the faces of the least among us. Her legacy is marked by the strength of forgiveness in the face of violence. She is invoked as a model of a Christian educator and of reconciliation. An icon in Villatico depicts her welcoming her murderers, and numerous charitable works for young people today bear her name.