As we are about to celebrate the 59th Anniversary of Mother Margherita’s entry into Heaven on January 22, it is good to remember that one of the events of the last quarter of the second millennium, an event that occurred in Gozo and left its mark on many parts of the world, was the Foundation of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus in 1880.

This congregation had its origin in the Association of the Twelve Stars of the Heart of Jesus, initiated at Victoria by a group of young girls whose Spiritual Director was Fr Joseph Diacono, at that time assistant parish priest at St George. Fr Diacono, then, committed himself to transforming this association into a Diocesan Religious Congregation, first with the name Franciscan Tertiaries and later, Franciscan Sisters of Malta. As time passed, this congregation was given Pontifical approval and to express its charism better, the name was changed to Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus.

In the constitutions of this congregation, we read that while Fr Diacono initiated the congregation, there was also Mother Margherita who through a divine disposition led it on, cultivated it and brought it to maturity. Mother Margherita, as a girl Virginia from Kerċem, was trained at Fr Diacono’s school. At the age of 27, through humble courage and inspired by the Holy Spirit, she decided to carry the burden of the congregation and managed to overcome the crisis that had almost brought the congregation to an end. Today, the congregation has already lived 130 years, and precisely on January 22, 2000, the end of the Diocesan Informative Process for the Beatification of Mother Margherita was celebrated. This process was initiated on July 4, 1988 in the Diocese of Gozo, and is now being continued in Rome.

Mother Margherita was a courageous woman, endowed by Divine Providence with the qualities of a “leader”. She possessed a strong faith in God’s loving plans, and with courage and determination she always abandoned herself totally to these plans. Numerous were the difficult situations she had to face from her youth when she accepted the responsibility of the congregation. Sometimes, she totally lacked finances, at other times, strong winds blew against the decision of opening a new house, on other occasions, a new community had to begin its existence without the bare necessities, not to mention the difficult times of the two World Wars with all their problems. But Mother Margherita always faced all troubles with serenity and strength, through patience and determination, and, above all, in a spirit of total abandonment to the decisions of Divine Providence. Her rule was always, as she once wrote to her spiritual director, Mgr Alphonse Agius: “May the most holy will of our sweet Father, to whom we abandon ourselves with soul and body, in life and death, be done.”

As a result of this characteristic that excelled so much in her spirituality, Mother Margherita describes herself as “a small, small child accompanied by a Father whose presence makes her forget all troubles”. Mother Margherita realised that to carry out this exercise, it was necessary to possess strength of character, that helps so much in the most important decisions. Once she wrote to one of her religious who, as it seems, lost heart in front of difficulties: “Be courageous and do not behave as a small girl; but as a strong bride, totally abandon yourself to your spouse, and this will be enough”.

In our times we are truly in need of more persons who accept this message, in order to courageously face all difficult situations they may encounter, without yielding to their pressure, or without turning back from their decisions when the winds blow against them.

Mother Margherita was a courageous woman who gave a very beneficial contribution to the millennium that has just finished. Her congregation has initiated the third millennium with the hope that in its first quarter it may rejoice with the beatification of the foundress. We heartily wish and confidently pray that this event will truly come about for God’s glory and the benefit of her religious congregation!