Margaret Occhiena was born on 1 April 1788 in Capriglio, Piedmont. At the age of 29, after five years of marriage, she was widowed and had to provide for the family in the midst of a famine that was devastating Europe, taking care of her mother-in-law and Anthony, the son of her husband's first marriage, while also raising their children, Joseph and John Bosco.
A strong woman with clear ideas and an unwavering faith, like the vast majority of women of the time she was illiterate and had a simple lifestyle; she always took care of the Christian education of her children – very different from each other in character - using humility and reasonableness. At the same time, she was also capable of making difficult decisions, such as when she had John Bosco removed from home to maintain domestic peace and offer him the opportunity to study.
She accompanied Don Bosco on his way to the priesthood. It was she who interpreted better than him the Dream that he made at the age of nine, and at 58 she left the tranquillity of her home in her village to follow him in his vocation among the poorest and most abandoned children in Turin. Thus for ten years mother and son linked their lives to the beginnings of the Salesian Congregation.
She was Don Bosco's first and main collaborator, and with her constant love, she brought her motherly presence into the Preventive System. Thus, without knowing it, she became the co-founder of the Salesian Family, capable of forming many figures of holiness, including Dominic Savio and Michael Rua.
She died in Turin at the age of 68, on 25 November 1856, and a crowd of young people mourned her like a mother, accompanying her remains to the cemetery. For this reason, the Salesian Family celebrates Cooperators' Day on this date and also remembers all the deceased relatives of the Salesian Family.
On 23 October 2006, Pope Benedict XVI declared Mother Margaret Venerable and began the process of beatification because "it is proven that she heroically exercised the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, both towards God and towards her neighbour, as well as the cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance, and the other virtues connected to them". Mamma Margaret has thus passed from Servant of God to Venerable and her beatification process is still underway.
Source: Salesian Missions -
