spirituality

God's Messenger to Asia
Religious life is a lifetime commitment

A fun-loving girl

Regional life in Italy is rich in customs and festivals being held during the feastdays of the Madonna and of various saints, during harvest season, weddings, baptisms, etc. It is in this milieu that a child was born to a farming couple on April 9, 1912, in Cariano, Verona, in Northern Italy. She was the second in a brood of seven, composed of two boys and five girls. The child was baptized and was given the name Elisabeta. At home, she was fondly called Beppa. She grew up to be a lively, fun-loving, yet responsible child, giving her share in domestic duties and helping in the field tilled by her father.

At an early age, Beppa began to nourish a desire to consecrate her life to God and be a missionary. However, she did not stay away from parties and dances which fascinated her. She even preferred to go dancing than join the evening praise (vespers) in her parish church. But soon, she felt a knock at the door of her heart. She found herself, one day, kneeling before the altar of the Blessed Sacrament and promising Jesus that she would consecrate her life to Him.

A life for God

On September 20, 1930, at the age of 18, Beppa entered the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP) in Alba, Italy. A period of formation followed. She made her first religious profession on August 20, 1935 and was given the name Maria Cleofe. She dedicated herself with enthusiam to the dissemination of the Bible and related religious literature and in her heart she continued to hope that she would be sent to China as a missionary, a desire she had expressed to her superiors while she was still a novice.

Two years later, as a response to her desire, she and Sr. Elena Ramondetti, were chosen to go to China. They set sail on January 10, 1937, accompanied by Sr. Edvige Soldano, a Sister ahead in religious profession. The boat had a week-long stopover in Manila, Philippines, where the International Eucharistic Congress was being held.

China, the dreamland

On February 9, 1937, they reached the shores of Shanghai. Sr. Cleofe wrote in her diary: "Although we were fully aware of our poverty and insufficiency in everything, we know that God was with us and we were at peace." When they arrived, they received a message from the Society of St. Paul (a brother congregation with the same apostolate) who were sent ahead of them in China not to join them because they themselves were not accepted by the bishop. But the Sisters were not discouraged. Their goal to make "Christ known to the Chinese people" kept burning in their heart. After about six months of searching for a place Bishop Yu Pin of Nanking received them in his diocese. But soon the war between China and Japan broke out. What were they supposed to do? Flee from the country, like many others? Amazingly, the three brave missionaries opted to remain. Only when the Italian embassy in Beijing ordered them to leave did they sail for India with a stubborn promise "We shall return."

India, another mission land

The Sisters proceeded to New Delhi to join the Society of St. Paul (SSP). Unfortunately again, the priests were just being tolerated to stay. Nonetheless the Sisters stayed put. Posing as domestic helpers for the priests, they looked so inconspicuous in their secular clothes, going around the city in bicycles. Wasn't that an enjoyable experience? They were already used to that kind of life when Mother Thecla, superior general, told them to go to the Philippines, but with a promise that after the war they could re-enter China. The three left India on Sept. 30, 1938 hopeful in God's provident ways.

The hidden plan of God

On October 13, the three missionaries arrived in Manila and were welcomed by the Benedictine Sisters at Vito Cruz. After a month they moved to Lipa City, Batangas, where other members of the Society of St. Paul (SSP) had already established themselves. They assisted the priests for more than a year. When the SSP moved to Pasay City in 1941, they ceded their convent to the Sisters.

A life-long commitment

Sr. Cleofe used to tell the Sisters about an experience she had when she was new in the Philippines. Once, when she took the bus for Manila, the young man seated beside her started a conversation with her. She had yet a very limited knowledge of English but they understood each other. At a certain point, a man said: "When will you finish your work in the convent. I want to marry you." Having understood him, Sr. Cleofe touched the upper part of her habit and gladly told the man: "Everlasting." With that he stopped pestering her. From her answer he learned that religious life is a life-time commitment.

Writer, leader, builder, magnetizer

It was in Batangas, during the World War II, that Sr. Cleofe witnessed the spiritual ignorance of the people. She had little eduaction but she wrote a leaflet entitled "The Seed," a simple treatise on the knowledge and love of God. It was followed by a pamphlet with the title "Things a Catholic Should Know," a short summary of the Catholic Doctrine, morals and worship in a concrete and astonishing effect on the people would later be translated into the different Philippine local languages.

After the war, the life of the fledging Daughters of St. Paul community started all over again. Sr. Elena became provincial superior of the combined province of India and Philippines and had to reside in India. It became the role of Sr. Cleofe to give life to the Philippine community.

Besides being a leader and a writer, Sr. Cleofe was endowed with the gift of constructing buildings for the community. In Lipa, it was she who managed the construction of two buildings. When the bigger community moved to Pasay, she also directed the construction of other buildings in the compound, and the beautiful sanctuary of the Queen of Apostles.

Sr. Cleofe had a short sojourn in India (then an independent province) as provincial superior. Then in 1975 she was sent back to the Philippines to be provincial superior. During this period she again managed to construct another residence and apostolic building for the Sisters. But she did not only build those lifeless structures. She attracted young vocations that would be sheltered therein. It is an undeniable fact that Sr. Cleofe's graciousness captivated many girls to enter the congregation.

What was her secret? First of all, it was her great faith in God. In all her projects, she started with nothing, but she trusted in the providence of God. Financial help always came pouring in from sources she never expected. Her prayer life was exemplary and she accompanied it with a witnessing that was always worthy of emulation: love for God and for her Sisters, love for the congregation, love for the apostolate, kindness and friendliness towards others.

Sr. Cleofe found a strong support in her blood sister, Sr. Bianca Maria, who also entered the congregation and came to the Philippines after the war. Their leadership and generosity stimulated the stamina of the growing community.

A Missionary for Life

After her term as provincial superior, Sr. Cleofe was called back to Italy for good. She once confided to a Sister: "It seems that the Divine Master is telling me that in order to fully live my Pauline vocation I must practice detachment from people, from things and from the countries where I have worked for so many years... so as to adopt the attitude of Mary in a spirit of humility and availability to God... I am at your disposal, Lord."

Advanced osteoporosis of the knees, added to her weakening strength, confined her to the wheelchair. She spent many years in the FSP hospital in Albano (Rome) Italy, where in silence and prayer she renewed daily her covenant with God.

Despite her sufferings, Sr. Cleofe was always zealous in her resolve to be useful: "From this wheechair I can continue my apostolate of evangelization and help prepare vocations for China. I can help the Philippine province through my sufferings. They are small but they are true apostolate."

Sr. Cleofe died on August 4, 1998 at the age of 86. We can be assured of her prayers to make this long-time dream of bringing the Gospel to China come true.