Maria was born in 1862 in Castelletto di Brenzone, Italy, the 1st of Giovanni and Prudenza Zamperini’s 4 children. She grew up in this small farming village and attended elementary school up to the 3rd grade. Her intelligence, strong will, and good sense made up for her incomplete education.
She learned piety from her parents, and at an early age, was drawn to prayer and to helping others.
At the age of 15, a priest named (Blessed) Fr. Giuseppe Nascimbeni arrived and became her spiritual director. He encouraged her to play an active role in the parish by visiting the sick and teaching catechism.
The Blessed Virgin Mary played an integral role in her life and she was inspired to emulate Our Lady’s maternal heart for all people. Therefore, at the age of 24, before a statue of Mary Immaculate, she made a private vow of perpetual virginity as she felt that God was calling her to be consecrated to Him.
In 1892, Father Nascimbeni founded the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family with 4 women, to promote parish life, and help those in need. Maria assisted him in the foundation, was made Co-foundress and Superior General, and was given the name, “Mother Maria of the Immaculate”.
She was faithful in assimilating and putting into practice the formation she had received during the initial preparatory years, carefully passing it on to the sisters and novices who were entrusted to her care. She became a model for the townspeople who came to her for counsel and comfort. Even though she held a large role in the Congregation, she felt her own ‘littleness’ in front of the greatness of God and what he intended for her.
The Little Sisters provided service to the poor and needy of the villages, achieved through the religious instruction of parishioners, assisting the sick and elderly in their homes, and working with children in nursery schools.
Those around her experienced a feeling of great peace, goodness, humility, and firmness.
She passed away on February 2, 1934 at the age of 72 and was canonized in 2022.
Today the Little Sisters of the Holy Family can be found in Italy, Switzerland, Albania, Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay with 1,200 sisters and 150 houses.
She is the patron saint of mother figures, biological mothers, spiritual mothers, and other women desiring to be a mother in different capacities.
Her feast day is February 2.
For God’s Glory.
