Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, FMA
We are a religious family born from the heart of Saint John Bosco and from the creative fidelity of Saint Mary Mazzarello. Don Bosco chose this name because he wanted us as a living monument of gratitude to Our Lady.
In Turin the option of founding an institution in favor of young women came to Don Bosco at the request of several people; by the verification of the state of abandonment and poverty in which many girls were; by contact with various women’s institutes; by the depth of his Marian devotion; by the confirmation of Pope Pius IX who encouraged him on this path; by repeated “dreams” and extraordinary events narrated by himself.
At the same time in Mornese, in the hills of Monferrato, the young María D. Mazzarello led a group of young women who dedicated themselves to the girls of the town, with the aim of teaching them a trade, but above all with the commitment to guide them towards Christian life.
At a distance, two signals on the same wavelength sent an identical message; The educational environment that was already in Turin-Valdocco had to be born for the girls and young women, for the boys through Don Bosco’s work. María D. Mazzarello was a co-founder by giving life, shape, and development to the new institution.
Missionary in character, they arrived in the Antilles in 1921, in the city of Camagüey, Cuba. Fifty years ago, on June 19, 1961, four Salesian religious arrived in Puerto Rico for the first time. They were Sister Marta Mondino, Sister Marta Rodríguez, Sister Estrella Brizuela and Sister Rosalía Peñín, the last two still with us. They came from Newton, New Jersey, where they had received them after the forced departure from Cuba, due to the triumph of the Castro revolution.
They went to the San José neighborhood, welcomed by the sisters of the Congregation of the Guardian Angels. They stayed there for 10 days, before settling in Santurce, where they helped with the catechesis in the parishes of San Juan Bosco, from Villa Palmeras, and María Auxiliadora, from Cantera, led by the Salesians of Don Bosco. In August 1961 they started the Colegio María Auxiliadora with grades from kindergarten to third. They quickly expanded their educational services all the way to eighth grade. By 1985 the first class of twelfth grade graduated.
They founded the Mother Mazzarello Oratory, a typically Salesian work. They came to offer, in addition to catechesis, classes in crafts, sports, dance, and theater, welcoming children and young people from the neighboring communities of Villa Kennedy, Bartolomé Las Casas, Las Margaritas, Villa Palmeras, and Barrio Obrero. Missionary ardor led the nuns to open communities in other towns on the island, such as Carolina, Ciales and Vega Baja. There they developed their mission through the direction of schools, catechesis, and apostolic groups. They are currently present in Santurce, Orocovis, Aguadilla.
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