Sister Anna Maria of the Sacred Heart, an Italian nun, turned 106 on March 14 at her monastery near Milan, where she continues to minister to her sick sisters and share thoughts on the gospel on YouTube.
The Italian newspaper Il Giorno reported that she is still clear “in thought and word” and that after 36 years of living in a monastery, the nuns are among the followers of the Blessed Sacrament. Despite her advancing age, she continues to participate in the daily eucharistic adoration during the night and assists in the monastery hospital, caring for elderly or sick nuns.
Her birthday celebration took place with a Thanksgiving Mass and a gathering with family members, experienced through the grills of the monastery where Sister Anna Maria lives dedicated to prayer.
“I do it, like many other things, out of the love of Jesus who constantly asks me to love my neighbor,” the religious woman, whose name was Anna Perfumo before entering the convent, said in a video shared by her community.
She added, “The years are many, but… with patience, God’s will will be done. Pray for me, and I will remember you always on earth and in heaven.”
According to Il Giorno, the nun’s life was full of difficulties from the beginning. At the age of 4 months, she contracted bronchopneumonia – a condition that was practically fatal in 1920 – and at the age of 4 she suffered from scurvy, a disease that was incurable at the time. “The doctor told my mother: ‘I won’t come back tomorrow, because the baby will die.’ Yet I miraculously recovered,” she said.
Before entering the monastery, she worked for years as a governess and schoolteacher, in addition to caring for elderly and infirm priests. Nevertheless, she always had a desire in her heart to dedicate herself to God in a contemplative life.
That wish was finally fulfilled after his mother’s death at the age of 70. After several attempts, she was admitted to the Monastery of the Adorers in Genoa, from where she was transferred years later to Seregno, where she currently lives.
In a video, Sister Anna Maria expressed her gratitude for the expressions of affection she received and spoke about her late vocation: “It is true; I had to wait for a long time before God’s will was done. But when God wills something, it is always done. So one must have great confidence, great faith, great hope and great patience.”
In his message, he also shared a reflection on the passage of time and loyalty: “My grandfather used to tell us that it is loyalty that keeps us young and that it is important to keep our eyes and soul open to what is beautiful, good and true; this way, one will experience a serene old age. Love keeps the heart young.”
Finally, he offered good wishes for the Easter season: “Life is Christ – the way, the truth and the life. May the Lord grant you peace and joy… and peace also among peoples, for brotherhood among the nations.”
The Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament are a contemplative, monastic order of women whose lives are centered on the continual adoration of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Their mission is to intercede for the Church and the world from the silence of the monastery, offering their lives as a form of ceaseless prayer.
The Congregation was founded in Rome in 1807 by Blessed Maria Magdalena of the Incarnation (Caterina Sordini) with the charism of eucharistic adoration.
this story was first published By ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
