Giuseppa Scandola

On December 12, 1877, Sister Maria Giuseppa Scandola left Verona for Africa alongside Daniel Comboni and four other religious sisters (Teresa Grigolini, Maria Caspi, Concetta Corsi, and Vittoria Paganini). They were the first European female missionaries to penetrate the interior of Central Africa.

Sister Maria Giuseppa dedicated her life to evangelization and service to the local populations, notably in Sudan and present-day South Sudan. She worked successively in Berber, El Obeid, Khartoum, Cairo, Aswan, Shellal, and Lul. She took care of the education of children, treated the sick, and taught hygiene and domestic economy, all while learning local languages to better communicate.

During the Mahdist War (1881-1898), which devastated the missions and led to the captivity of several of her fellow sisters, she had to go into exile in Egypt. There, she continued her work among Sudanese refugees and freed slaves, notably on the island of Gesira on the Nile starting in August 1888. In 1881, Daniel Comboni wrote about her: "The holiest sister we have is the sacristan of Khartoum, Sister Maria Giuseppa. Oh, she is a true saint!"

After the end of the war, she returned to the mission in Sudan. On June 21, 1903, she arrived in Lul, on the banks of the White Nile. It was there that she performed the ultimate act of her missionary life. In August 1903, a 29-year-old missionary priest, Father Giuseppe Beduschi, fell gravely ill and slipped into a coma. Sister Maria Giuseppa, then 54 years old, offered her own life to God in exchange for that of the young priest, sending him this message: "The Father will not die, for I have offered my life in his place." Father Beduschi recovered miraculously and continued his mission for many years, while Sister Maria Giuseppa was struck down by malarial fevers and passed away on September 1, 1903, in Lul.

The reputation for holiness of Sister Maria Giuseppa Scandola, marked by her heroic humility and the offering of her life, was passed on within her congregation and the populations she served. Her mortal remains were exhumed and transferred several times: first to the Lul cemetery in 1927, then to the chapel of the Lul church in 1929, before being brought back to Italy. In 1977, they were placed in the General House in Rome, then transferred definitively to the Mother House of the Comboni Missionary Sisters in Verona on November 26, 2003.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Sister Maria Giuseppa Scandola was opened by the Bishop of Verona in 1977. The diocesan inquiry took place from September 14, 2001, to March 1, 2002. The file was then transmitted to Rome to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On June 12, 2014, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Sister Maria Giuseppa Scandola is deeply rooted in the love of the Eucharist, devotion to the Sacred Heart, and to the Virgin Mary (under the titles of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Immaculate Conception). Her journey illustrates the Comboni charism: "Save Africa by Africa" in an attitude of humility, silence, and total self-giving. Her sacrifice to save the life of a fellow priest remains a model of collaboration and fraternal charity within the Comboni family. Today, her memory is particularly honored by the Comboni Missionary Sisters. A reception and care facility for elderly or sick nuns in Verona bears her name ("Casa Sr. Giuseppa Scandola"), perpetuating her legacy of compassion and service.