Venerable Maria Oliva Bonaldo

Maria Oliva Bonaldo, in religion, Maria Oliva Bonaldo of the Mystical Body (26 March 1893, Castelfranco Veneto – 10 July 1976, Rome) was an Italian Catholic nun. The founder and Superior General of the Daughters of the Church, she was declared venerable by Pope Francis. Maria Oliva Bonaldo was born in 1893. Her parents were Giuseppe Antonio Bonaldo and Italica Dionisia Bianco. She was the fourth child of a family of nine. Her parents were first restaurateurs before they opened and operated a hotel in Bassano del Grappa where they settled. Her mother died on 13 February 1904, giving birth to her ninth child. Maria was 11 years old. She was educated in a school of the religious congregation of the Canossians until she was 14. Then, she went to school in Venice, where she obtained a teaching diploma in 1910. Maria Oliva was sent to a primary school in Castello di Godego, Italy, for her first teaching assignment. She redistributed part of her salary to the poor, whom she called "Jesus," and began attending mass every morning. In 1911, she became engaged to Mario Melli, a young Venetian painter. On 22 May 1913, she decided to take part in the Eucharistic procession for the solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi. She would later describe this procession and the moment when the priest raised the host to give the blessing as the turning point in her life, considering at that moment that "everything that did not belong to God was vanity." She stated that upon returning home, she resolved to become a nun, and ended her relationship with Mario Melli. She informed her spiritual director of her new plan to become a nun, but he, surprised by this sudden and unexpected decision, dissuaded her from entering the orders immediately, not considering her ready. During the First World War, Maria Oliva took refuge with her family in Portiolo, Italy, where she began serving Don Pericle Aldini, the local priest, and was active in youth ministry.