When I was asked to speak about Sr. Thecla Merlo, Co-Foundress and first Superior General of the Daughters of St. Paul, I was reminded of the words the Apostle Paul wrote at the beginning of the third chapter of his letter to the Colossians: “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. […]
continuaMore TagCategory: What they say about her
Her “Yes” Accompanies Me
This accompaniment began in 1948, when I arrived in Rome as a young aspirant to the Congregation and found Prima Maestra waiting to welcome me with a big hug and smile. I lived in our huge Via Antonino Pio community during the years in which Prima Maestra was always among us: in chapel, for meals, […]
continuaMore Tag
My most beautiful memories of Prima Maestra Thecla
I entered the Congregation in 1955, when I was 20 years old. As an aspirant, I initially thought that Maestra Thecla was just one sister among many. But then one of my companions told me that she was the Co-Foundress of the Institute so I began to watch her more attentively but from afar because […]
continuaMore Tag
I carried you on my shoulders…
My first meeting with Prima Maestra Thecla took place even before I entered the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul because in all the encounters organized by the sisters of the Cagliari community, they spoke about Prima Maestra, her role in the Congregation and what she meant to each of its members. Even before […]
continuaMore Tag
Observing Maestra Thecla Helped Me Grow as a Pauline
I got to know Maestra Thecla during the time I was a novice and junior professed sister in the Via Antonino Pio community, Rome (1958-1964). My earliest memories of her are of the conferences she gave us after Mass every Sunday morning in the AP conference hallthe only room big enough to hold our huge […]
continuaMore Tag