| Sons of Charity...
|
The one mission that Magdalene
never saw to complete fruition was the establishment of the Sons of Charity. Magdalene first had the idea of such an Institute in 1800. It was to be composed of priests and laymen living simply with vows for the education, instruction and assistance of young boys. After much difficulty in setting up the Institute she envisaged, the first house of the Sons of Charity opened in May 1831 next to the Daughters of Charity in Venice. Soon the house proved to be too small and the occupants moved to the Oratory of Santa Lucia. However hoardes of boys were drawn to the Oratory and the people working there had immense difficulty coping. Some even expressed a desire to leave. Magdalene tried in vain to find more volunteers. She passed away believing that the Institution of the Sons of Charity would fail. |
| Magdalene's Demise
|
Magdalene's health had never
been good, and in her final years she grew progressively weaker. The pains in her arms,
legs and chest got worse. She nonetheless pressed on with her commitments. Magdalene took a turn for the worse in early 1835. Amid fainting spells and acute suffering she kept going, abandoning herself to the Lord. But her condition appeared desperate during Holy Week. On Wednesday she requested to receive the sacraments and was given the Viaticum. On Good Friday Magdalene told those around her she was going to die. A priest was called and she was given the Last Anointing and absolution. Magdalene then joined in the prayers of the dying. Magdalene then indicated that she wanted to get up and recite three Hail Marys. She was held up and said the prayer standing. At the end of the third Hail Mary, she went onto her knees and uttered a cry of joy, opening her arms as if greeting a loved one. Then she crossed her arms and passed from this world in peace. It was about seven in the evening on 10 April 1835, Good Friday, a day special to Our Lady of Sorrows. Magdalene was sixty-one years, one month and nine days old. |
