Sr. M. Tomasina: Pica Rosa
“Who wants to be a missionary? “asked the young Father James Alberione to the group of the young Sister Disciples of the Divine Master … Thomasina and other young women raised their hands, not knowing that the Lord would take them at their word!
She was born in Fragneto Monforte (Benevento) on October 24, 1907. She entered the house of Saint Paul in Rome on September 5, 1927. She professed her first vows in Alba on October 27, 1930 and her Perpetual Vows in Argentina, Florida on the 1st of June 1940).
This was the beginning of the adventure of Thomasina who was sent, as the first of many, to the most Southern part of the World.
In her writings she recounts: “In the summer of 1931, during a meditation, the Primo Maestro said: “The time has come to reach other nations, to open new houses and to spread the Gospel.”
Sr. M. Tomasina was chosen to go to Argentina. She says: “I felt a strong resistance in accepting, but I obeyed, I did it with much sacrifice and after offering several hours of Adoration”.
This resistance was due to a deep pain linked to her family who had left to emigrate to Argentina, while the young Rosina had remained in Italy to follow God’s call. Everyone left for this country full of promises and with its doors open to migrants. By the law of 1876, the state gave them land, work, religious freedom, and resources, and entrusted the growth of the nation to the migrants. Thousands of families from many countries, especially from Europe, came to Argentina dreaming of a better future. Among them was the Pica family.
They traveled with the ship Princess Mafalda and, in the ocean crossing, on October 25, 1927, they were involved in the tragic shipwreck from which only a brother and a little sister were saved.
For Sr M. Tomasina to face the journey on those waters that had become the tomb of her parents and other family members was not easy. She found strength in the blessing of Father Alberione and left on December 10th, 1931 boarding the Conte Verde ship. She went to the port of Buenos Aires with Father Angelo Cozzani. He was ordained a Pauline priest on 30th December 1931.
The challenge of fear, pain and loneliness were never obstacles to the tender and missionary heart of Sr. Tomasina. She became a true mother to the Pauline Seminarians and to the sisters in her community. She worked hard, was serene and kind. Her smile lit up every room!
With Sr M. Paula Anselm, who arrived later, they opened houses and forged new paths for our Congregation. From her stories she shares: “They were years of apostolic work, love and commitment. Years guided by the presence of the Lord and the sure word of the Founder who constantly inspired us to do God’s will.”
Sr. M. Tomasina was a woman of faith and trusted in providence. She had a particular devotion to St Joseph, so much so that she loved to tell a sign of the presence of God linked to our House of Cordoba.
The sisters were in a small house and their numbers were growing. This concerned Sr. Tomasina who was searching for a larger house to be able to accommodate more young people and to have better living quarters for the sisters. She prayed and encouraged them to pray so that St. Joseph would intercede for their needs. One night, she dreamed that the Saint told her to get on his donkey. He guided her through the streets of the city to number 365, Via Oncativo. It was a convent which belonged to the Sisters of St Joseph. When they arrived there, St Joseph showed her that this was the place for them!
The next morning, after praying and having eaten breakfast, she decided to walk through the streets of the city until she reached the address indicated to her. She was full of amazement when she found everything corresponding to her dream! There was a building where the sisters ran a high school which was named after St Joseph. These sisters had to leave this school and were praying that their property would be entrusted into the hands of good people!
That building is till our home today! For many years it was a house of formation, then a retirement home for elderly and sick priests, and today it is used as a prayer house, where many people go to meet the Lord and spend time with Him …
Sr M. Tomasina served as superior in various houses in Florida, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Mar del Plata. She was outstanding for her great kindness towards the sisters. She was gifted with understanding and formed simple and sincere relationships. An important aspect of her apostolic outreach was her involvement with the Pauline Cooperators, she was a maternal presence to all.
As the years passed, she faced health problems and weakness. She continued to pray and offer everything to Jesus Master. Her heart was filled with love for Jesus, for our Congregation and the Pauline Family. She died serenely on February 14th, 1992.
She continues to guide us through her kindness, her care for the little ones, the way she communicated peace to all, her silence, love, and prayer … and her capacity in the apostolate to make herself close to all. Her dedication to the co-operators and all her other gifts are the values that still inspire us today.
In her honour, and naming it after her, [1]during the pandemic, we created a pastry business. Sisters prepared various recipes which promoted healthy living, care for Creation, and solidarity. It helped us deepen our way of living Pauline poverty and to respond to the cry of the Earth, as the Magisterium urges us to do today.
[1] You can view this on Instagram or Facebook: @madretomasina