Adele Bonolis

The vocation of Adele Bonolis finds its source in a striking childhood memory: at the age of eight, while walking with her father, she caught sight of a prostitute. Her father slapped her and ordered her to look away, but the little girl felt a deep compassion and a benevolent curiosity for this marginalized woman. As an adult, she decided to dedicate her life to restoring dignity to women who were victims of prostitution and social exclusion. Her action took concrete form through the foundation of several reception structures, which she refused to call 'institutes,' preferring the term 'houses' (Case). Her pedagogical approach rested on three fundamental pillars: trust, freedom, and self-governance (fiducia, libertà, autogoverno), excluding any rigid rules or disciplinary constraints. The Casa di Orientamento Femminile (COF) - Casa Maria Assunta: Founded in 1950 in Onno (then transferred to Varenna and finally established in 1957 in Montano Lucino, in a villa donated by the Ratti family). This pioneering work, created eight years before the 1958 Merlin Law which ordered the closure of brothels in Italy, welcomed former prostitutes and single mothers with their children to help them reintegrate into society. The Casa di Orientamento per le Dimesse da Istituti Correzionali (CODIC) - Casa Maria delle Grazie: Founded in 1953 in Cibrone di Nibionno (Lecco), this house was dedicated to the reception and rehabilitation of women leaving prison. The Opera Assistenza Fraterna (As.Fra.) - Casa San Paolo: Founded in 1957 in Vedano al Lambro (Monza) at the express request of the Archbishop of Milan, Mgr. Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Pope Saint Paul VI). This structure, the only male work of Adele, welcomed former prisoners and people released from judicial psychiatric hospitals. Villa Salus: Established in Lenno (Como), this house was dedicated to the reception of women suffering from psychic and physical fragilities. The Associazione Amicizia: Founded in 1962, this association brought together volunteers and collaborators wishing to help one another in their spiritual life and charitable commitment. For her exceptional dedication, Adele Bonolis received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice cross from Pope Pius XII in 1955, as well as the Gold Medal of Civic Merit from the Municipality of Milan in 1959.

In June 1976, during a spiritual retreat in Anghiari, Adele felt the first symptoms of intestinal cancer. Despite the illness and a major surgical procedure undergone in December 1978, she continued to actively follow her foundations and welcome visitors with an unalterable smile. She passed away on August 11, 1980, in her home on Via Lanzone in Milan. Her funeral was celebrated in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, the very place where she had been baptized. According to her wishes, she was buried in the cemetery of Montano Lucino (Como), near the COF house she had founded. The reputation of holiness of Adele Bonolis has continued to grow after her death. The committee formed by the continuators of her works acted as the petitioner for her cause of beatification. The diocesan inquiry opened in Milan on January 31, 2003, and closed on December 4, 2003. The legal validity of this inquiry was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints by a decree on December 16, 2005.

The Positio, a summary document demonstrating the heroic nature of her virtues, was submitted for examination by theological consultants who issued a favorable opinion on February 20, 2020. The cardinals and bishops of the Congregation confirmed this judgment on January 12, 2021. On January 21, 2021, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of the virtues of Adele Bonolis, thus officially conferring upon her the title of Venerable. To date, no miracle has been officially recognized for her beatification, a step that requires the validation of a scientifically inexplicable healing attributed to her intercession.

Adele Bonolis's spirituality is deeply Eucharistic and centered on divine mercy. She received communion daily and drew from prayer the strength to see Christ in the people most rejected by society. Her deep conviction is summarized in her phrase: "Every soul is a word of God that is not repeated" (Ogni anima è parola di Dio non ripetuta). She also liked to recall the absolute trust she placed in Providence: "We find 99 paths, but God shows us the hundredth" (Noi troviamo 99 strade, ma Dio ci indica la centesima).

Her legacy remains particularly alive. The structures she founded continue to operate under the aegis of the Fondazione Adele Bonolis - As.Fra. and the COF, adapting their services to contemporary forms of marginalization, notably by welcoming women who are victims of domestic violence and asylum seekers.