Rome (Italy). On the occasion of the centenary of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (1921-2021) – founded in Milan by the Franciscan Father Agostino Gemelli – Mother Rosetta Marchese, Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, is mentioned in the publication “Witnesses of the Faith in the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart”, published by EDUCatt.
Author of the book is Prof. Pier Luigi Guiducci, historian and jurist, Lecturer at the Rome office, interviewed by Dr. Carlo Màfera, degreed in Political Sciences with a historical direction and in Classical and Christian Literature, on some witnesses of the faith who studied at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
From the very first pages, the objective of the work is clearly understood: to make manifest the contribution of the University to the cultural and spiritual formation of generations of men and women many of whom have been and still are, in the Church and in society, authentic witnesses of the faith. Among these, Mother Rosetta Marchese who in her life path, cultivated a contemplative spirituality lived in the mission of teacher, assistant, and later, in the animation and governance of the FMA Institute. This spirituality opened her to a “Eucharistic donation of self and to a spiritual motherhood without borders.”
From 1943 to 1947, Sister Rosetta was enrolled at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, where she graduated in Literature in 1947 with a thesis on literary criticism of Aurelio Bertola’s Pre-Romanticism. Of the large group of FMA who resided in the section for the religious of Castelnuovo Fogliani (Piacenza), Sr. Rosetta, appreciated for her intellectual and relational skills, was soon appointed group leader: a task of animation and spiritual and moral responsibility among the sisters, which she carried out with great dedication and wisdom.
At the beginning of the fourth year of studies, she was also proposed to be the general coordinator of the university students of the various religious congregations present in the resident school as a point of connection between the students, professors, and the academic community.
In carrying out this service, Sr. Rosetta was able to develop a broader ecclesial and cultural vision, learning to know and value the contribution of the various charisms to the Church and to society. That office was for her a significant internship in animation that allowed her to express her skills of coordination, guidance, and promotion of people, which she then carried out in the best possible way in the Institute, in the mission of Councilor and then of Superior General, promoting the unity of the Charism in the diversity of cultures and in various contexts.
The period of her university studies was a wonderful cultural laboratory for her, where she assimilated, with the guidance of illustrious teachers, that harmony between faith and culture, between the Gospel and life, of which she will be a luminous witness throughout her life.
Francesca Caggiano, FMA
The life of Mother Rosetta as testified by the author Prof Guiducci is so inspiring to the FMA and lay educators of who are challenged to combine culture and faith today, more than ever. This is Mother Antonia Colombo’s advocacy too, later, in her lifetime. That Mother Rosetta Marchese achieved in her days the great reality that from contemplation of the truths of faith emerges the best lessons of life, similarly, this is the most that an FMA educator could ever share with the young and could contribute to the growth of the Church today.
Que mejor honor vivir el lema de San Juan Bosco: “buenos cristianos y honestos ciudadanos”, para la querida Madre Rosetta Marchese vivir en plenitud su vida consagrada a Dios y ser miembro útil y fecundo, no sólo en la sociedad, sino en la fecundidad generativa de aquellos que, el Señor en su providencia, le hacia encontrar en su camino.
We thank God for this great good news. We feel proud and congratulate Mother Rosetta who is in heaven for her leadership as well as for her gifts of co ordination all round service and multiple personality that has left a stamp in the history of the University , church and FMA institute.
INk. FMA
A beautiful life lived in fidelity and love. She is a model and a shining star for us educators of young. We are grateful to God and to the Church for raising her to the process of sanctity.
A warm greeting of love from FMA Solomon Islands
Sr. Regina FMA
Me parece estupenda esta reseña sobre la vida universitaria de nuestra inolvidable Madre Rossetta Marchese, en la cual pude captar ese gran carisma de generadora de vida y espiritualidad en ese periodo y durante su gestión de animación y de gobierno en nuestro Instituto de FMA.