Blessed Liduina Meneguzzi

Elisa Angela Meneguzzi (12 September 1901 - 2 December 1941) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious and a member of the Sisters of Saint Francis de Sales. She assumed the religious name of "Liduina" upon making her solemn profession into the order. She also served in the missions in Ethiopia where she became known for her care of the ill and for her efforts at increased ecumenism; this earned her two titles: "Sister Gudda" (meaning 'Great') and the "Ecumenical Flame". The beatification was held in Saint Peter's Square on 20 October 2002. Elisa Angela Meneguzzi was born on 12 September 1901 in Padua to poor farmers and lived on the farm with her brothers and sisters. Her childhood was noted for her consideration of the religious life as well as her flair for instructing others in catechism and attending Mass on a frequent basis. At the age of fourteen - in 1915 - she began to work as a servant to families of considerable wealth in the area and also worked in the hotels around the hot springs near the town. On 5 March 1926 she joined the Sisters of Saint Francis de Sales - dedicated to the saint of that name - and upon her solemn profession assumed the religious name of "Liduina". She worked at this time at the Santa Croce boarding school as both a housekeeper and sacristan in addition to her post as that of a nurse. In 1937 she was granted her ardent desire to join the missions in Ethiopia and was sent to Dire Dawa. She later became known as "Sister Gudda" (meaning 'Great') for her passionate commitment to the needs of the ill and the poor of the town while working as a nurse at Parini Civil Hospital; the outset of World War II saw her tend to wounded soldiers. When the town was bombed she went about moving the wounded to shelters and baptizing those who had fatal injuries.