Maria Nazarena Majone

The life of Sister Maria Nazarena is inseparable from the foundation and expansion of the congregation of the Daughters of Divine Zeal (Figlie del Divino Zelo), co-founded with Saint Annibale Maria Di Francia. This work was born on March 19, 1887, in the Avignone district of Messina, an area then marked by extreme material and moral poverty. On June 7, 1895, the community moved into the former disused monastery of the Holy Spirit (Spirito Santo) in Messina. Sister Maria Nazarena was elected the first superior general there, a position she would officially hold from 1902 to 1928. Under her energetic and maternal leadership, the institute developed rapidly. She opened orphanages in Taormina in 1902 and in Giardini in 1903. On December 28, 1908, a terrible earthquake devastated Messina, destroying the motherhouse and claiming the lives of thirteen of her sisters. Mother Nazarena, then in Taormina, returned immediately to the scene to organize relief efforts amidst the ruins. She then organized the transfer of the survivors to Oria, in Puglia, where a new women's oratory was inaugurated in April 1909. Mother Nazarena faithfully accompanied the founder in his ecclesial endeavors and was received in audience by Popes Pius X and Benedict XV. She assisted Father Annibale during his final illness in Fiumara Guardia, where he passed away on June 1, 1927. In 1934, she was transferred to Rome. She spent her final years there in great isolation and deep humility, accepting with absolute obedience being removed from all responsibility by the new superior general. Afflicted with diabetes, she died serenely in Rome on January 25, 1939.

After her funeral celebrated in Rome, the body of Mother Maria Nazarena Majone was first buried in the Campo Verano cemetery. On May 11, 1992, her mortal remains were transferred to the Church of the Holy Spirit (Spirito Santo) in Messina, the motherhouse of her congregation. The cause for beatification officially opened with the granting of the nihil obstat by the Holy See on January 23, 1991. The diocesan inquiry took place in the Vicariate of Rome from January 8, 1992, to June 2, 1993, followed by the opening of the apostolic phase on June 3, 1993. On May 9, 2003, the congress of theological consultants of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a positive opinion on the heroic nature of her virtues.

On December 20, 2003, Pope John Paul II authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable. Her cause is currently in progress, awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession to pave the way for her beatification.

The spirituality of Mother Maria Nazarena Majone rests entirely on the charism of the Rogate: obedience to Jesus' command to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest (Mt 9:38). She embodied this charism through a spiritual motherhood attentive to the poorest, the orphans, and abandoned youth.

Her life was marked by an absolute trust in Divine Providence and a profound humility. The silent acceptance of the trials and humiliations of her final years in Rome has been described by her biographers as a "white martyrdom."

Today, the Daughters of Divine Zeal continue her work throughout the world, notably in Europe, America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, by dedicating themselves to the education of youth, aid to the destitute, and prayer for priestly and religious vocations.