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Sr. Giuseppina Vasoin
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ROVIGO, ITALY: In memory of Sr. Giuseppina Vasoin
On 20 November, three sisters from the community of Treviso, on behalf of the provincial superior, went to the Military Memorial in Rovigo for the celebration, organised by UNUCI (National Union of Italian Officers on Leave). The ceremony was in memory of our sister, Sr. Giuseppina Vasoin, born in Thiene (VI) in 1877 and died in Rovigo in 1916. Her corpse, or rather the remains of her corpse rests in Rovigo, together with about 600 Italian and 200 Austro-Hungarian soldiers who fell in the war or died due to illness. The major, Knight Giuseppe Bonfiglio and Lieutenant Carlo Avanzo, in charge of the origins of the Unknown Soldier and the soldiers who fell in the war, brought a new fact to our knowledge. They discovered the burial cell of Sr. Giuseppina, the only woman buried there, found among the tombs of the soldiers. After several years of service at the «Giudecca» prison, Sr. Giuseppina was transferred to Rovigo Shelter, then moved to «De Silvestri» barracks, which became an emergency military hospital, where she lovingly tended to the wounded and sick soldiers. The photo memory reads: amid the hospital wards… medicine for souls and bodies… she used to go round tirelessly until she died… she passed away with that unchanging smile, a heroine for charity without knowing it, a saint amidst the weeping of the soldiers who used to call her ‘angel’. The ceremony commenced, in the presence of civil, military and religious authorities and some lay people; there were historical and informative speeches on the newly restored shrine. After thanking for the attention reserved for our sister on behalf of the Institute, there was the Holy Mass celebrated by the parish priest of «San Bortolo», Rovigo. He highlighted how in that place of ‘peace’, on the feast of Christ the King, it was meaningful to be present as builders of peace, of that peace for which many soldiers died, yesterday as today, that peace which only God can ensure to the whole world through our collaboration. A wreath was then laid at the foot of the burial cell of Sr. Giuseppina, while the notes of «Silence» and the «Ave Maria» accompanied the small procession: a moving moment, inspiring prayer and memory. They gave us a portrait of Sr. Giuseppina drawn in charcoal, splendid in her humble face, a very young sister, who died at the age of 39, for her charity among the soldiers.