Maria Di Majo

Seriously ill, Maria Di Majo returned to her family in Palermo to seek treatment. Supported by Blessed Teresa Casini, she conceived a new religious foundation and obtained a dispensation from her vows with the Oblates on November 6, 1929. On August 4, 1930, she officially founded the Congregation of the Missionary Servants of Christ the King in Palermo with four companions. She received the religious habit on October 26, 1930, from the hands of Father Nobili, taking the name Sister Maria Dolores di Cristo Re. The institute faced slander and suspicion from local ecclesiastical authorities for nearly twenty years, particularly after the dismissal of Albertina Pennacchiotti for immoral conduct. Despite these trials, the institute was canonically erected on February 16, 1957, by Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini, Archbishop of Palermo. On September 20, 1963, Sister Maria Dolores was elected Superior General during the first general chapter.

The reputation of holiness of Maria Dolores di Cristo Re developed during her lifetime and continued after her death. The diocesan inquiry into her virtues and reputation for holiness opened in Palermo on January 23, 1987, and closed on October 15, 1995. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a decree of validity for the inquiry on March 5, 1999. The Positio was published in 2002. The particular congress of theological consultants gave a favorable opinion on March 28, 2017, followed by the favorable opinion of the ordinary session of cardinals and bishops on March 20, 2018.

On April 14, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Maria Dolores di Cristo Re. Since that date, she is officially declared venerable by the Catholic Church.

The spirituality of the Venerable Maria Dolores di Cristo Re is marked by ecumenism, reparation, and love for the Eucharist. She centered the charism of her congregation on prayer for the unity of Christians, inspired by the testament of Jesus: "Ut unum sint" (John 17:21). She offered her life and her sufferings for the return to unity of Protestants, Anglicans, and schismatics, as well as for the conversion of Freemasons and the sanctification of priests. Her missionary apostolate aimed to extend the reign of Christ the King ("Omnes gentes servient ei") through prayer, sacrifice, and works of education and assistance for orphans and the elderly. Struck by paralysis on August 19, 1966, she passed away in Palermo on June 27, 1967. Her congregation continues her work today in Italy and Mexico, and a street in Palermo bears her name.