Religious, missionary and benefactress

Born in Sanremo on 25th April 1904 to Joseph and Antoinette Goetha.

At the age of twenty-eight she entered the Order of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesians of Don Bosco) as a novice, leaving shortly afterwards for the Republic of Haiti in Central America, where she would continue her activity until the end of her days.

Here she brought her lifelong spirit of charity among the poor and marginalised of the local community, often forced to live in conditions of extreme poverty and in need of moral and material assistance.
On the Caribbean island she did her best to build and run schools to welcome indigenous girls free of charge and to accompany them towards full integration into civil society and decent work.

In the course of her mission, she and her sisters were able to open schools and oratories attended by over 900 girls, 100 of whom were internal, with a teaching staff of 22 lay teachers.

In 1966 she was awarded the title of Official Knight of the Republic of Haiti and Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by the President of the Republic, Giuseppe Saragat.

In 1974 she received the "Fronda d'Oro" insignia in Chiavari, reserved for Ligurian citizens who had highly honoured her homeland for works of the heart, ingenuity and work.

On 13th October 1977, on the occasion of the patron saint's feast day, she was proclaimed a Meritorious Citizen of Sanremo by the municipal administration on the proposal of the Famija Sanremasca.

She died in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, on 24 May 1987.

After her death, the Municipal Administration dedicated a crossbar to her that led from Corso Matuzia to the former railway.

(source: Vite di Sanremesi Illustri di A.Gandolfo)