For the Solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows, we wish to recall and deepen the figure of Mother Maria Oliva Bonaldo of the Mystical Body, Foundress of the Daughters of the Church: a woman deeply rooted in Canossian spirituality and guardian of an inheritance of love, tradition, and service which, even today, unites these two charisms.
Mother Maria Oliva spent twenty years as a Canossian. Right in the General House in Rome, near Don Orione, she nurtured the dream of founding a new religious family—a dream born of a spirituality cultivated and lived in communion with her Canossian sisters. But first, let’s find out together whoMother Maria Oliva Bonaldo was.
Biography and Canossian Formation
Maria Oliva Bonaldo was born in 1893 in Castelfranco Veneto. In 1920 she entered the Canossians at Treviso, where she experienced years of intense human and spiritual formation, leading to her perpetual profession of vows in 1928. Her belonging to the Canossian Institute was not merely a stage in her journey, but a profound root that would nourish her entire future path.
Vocation and Contemplative Aspiration
It was within the Canossian family that Maria Oliva matured a profound desire for contemplative life. Her inner search, supported by the discernment and guidance of the Church, inspired her to envisage and shape a new form of religious life—one capable of uniting deep prayer, love for the Eucharist, and dedication to the Church. It was not an individual project: soon, other sisters felt the same urge and chose to join her in this spiritual adventure.
The Foundation of the Daughters of the Church
On 24 June 1938, a new chapter began. Together with a small group of young religious, Maria Oliva gave life to the Daughters of the Church, within the very walls of the Canossian General House in Rome. This step did not sever her bond with her family of origin; rather, it transformed that bond into the wellspring of a new mission. The Daughters of the Church were thus born from the heart of Canossian spirituality, opening themselves to a distinct charism: one centred on love for the Church and the offering of one’s life for her holiness and unity.
A Bond that Endures
The story of Mother Maria Oliva teaches us to how one charism may blossom from the roots of another, while maintaining its own identity. For her, the Canossians were a spiritual family, a place of formation, inspiration, and gratitude. The Daughters of the Church, born from this spiritual soil, continue to embody the same love for the Church, for liturgical prayer, for simple fraternity, and for apostolic service.
Each year, on the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, these common roots come visibly to life—through gestures, traditions, and bonds of affection that remind us that this shared history of faith continues to bear fruit.
For those who wish to deepen their understanding of how the Daughters of the Church describe this bond, and how they live the memory of Our Lady of Sorrows within their tradition, we warmly invite you to read the full article: “The Memory of Our Lady of Sorrows: A Bond of Love and Tradition,” published on the website of the Daughters of the Church. Read it here →
With gratitude for our common roots.
