Some people feel as if you've known them forever. Some people stay with you always…!
Mariangela is that person for me.
I first met her in 1983, at a national conference in Milan. I had been invited, knowing nothing yet of what Faith and Light was. There, I confided in her that I had received the call of Faith and Light at Lourdes, where I had gone on pilgrimage with an anguished heart. She smiled at me with that penetrating gaze of her clear eyes, and I felt immediately that we understood each other deeply.
Her words convinced me at once. When I returned to the South, I began my journey with Faith and Light. Our meetings at the National Council, her calls to reassure and encourage me, the tenderness in her gentle voice—all of this became a vigorous support as I guided the first communities in Puglia and the South. Now, Mariangela, you are here with us, a great and lasting gift for us and our children, a safe guide on our personal and communal path. You are the great mother who walks with us and will never leave us!
Delia Mitolo, 2014
