Present in Romania for thirty years, the Guanellian nuns have grown in number and works. They invited and then supported the Servants of Charity to give life to the only Guanellian Family 

by Don Bruno Capparoni

LThe new house of the Servants of Charity in Iași is located next to two houses of the nuns; thus a sort of Guanellian citadel of charity has arisen. Welcomed by the superior, Sister Vittoria Pop, we visited the two large structures, the Casa Providenței (House of Providence) and the Casa Sfântul Iosif (House of Saint Joseph). Moving from room to room, Sister Vittoria provided interesting information about the presence of the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence in Romania.

The Guanellian nuns arrived in this pleasant and welcoming country after the anti-communist revolution of 1989. In 1994, the first nuns arrived from Italy, including Sister Serena Ciserani. Her gifts of intelligence and courage shone especially from 2010, when for a decade she led the entire female congregation before being struck down by an inexorable disease, but she had already given an excellent proof of herself also in Iași, in a period that in Romania was favorable for Christian life. In fact, the fall of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu and the freedom finally obtained created a fertile climate of spiritual recovery to the advantage of both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, with many young people who felt attracted by the priestly and religious vocation. In that moment of particular fervor, Sister Serena Ciserani and the Italian sisters presented the Guanellian charism and their mission to the Romanian girls, winning over many of them. Several of them then entered the novitiate, following the stages of religious formation until perpetual profession. In these years, 23 young people from Romania have joined the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence and have also given a valid development to the Guanellian houses in Italy.

Currently, the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence in Romania also operate in two other locations: in Șcheia, in the Suceava County, and in Sagna, in the Neamț County. In these locations, they form tiny communities of two nuns each and dedicate themselves to the animation of some day-care social centers, where they welcome minors from poor families, giving them specific nutritional and educational attention. They also collaborate with the local Catholic parishes and are also involved in catechesis and religious teaching.

So the Mother House of the Guanellian Sisters in Romania is located in Iași, made up of these two rather imposing buildings, of elegant shape and accurate construction.

The Casa Providenței was initially dedicated to the education of young women attracted by the religious vocation. Even now it is intended for educational activities and hosts a group of younger girls who come from disadvantaged families and attend high schools in Iași; the nuns offer them an adequate educational environment, in addition to the possibility of carrying out their studies peacefully. A second group is instead made up of girls enrolled in the university faculties of the city, which is the main academic center of the country. The Guanellians, according to their possibilities, try to help the students away from home, while carrying out educational activities and vocational animation among them, in the hope of finding new strength for the congregation. Today the house offers a total of 34 places, with three nuns assigned to this particular mission among the young people.

Opposite is the Casa Sfântul Iosif, a beautiful structure that can accommodate 48 non-self-sufficient elderly people; since this service is much requested and appreciated, the places are always all occupied. On the ground floor are the service areas (the large kitchen and the modern laundry), but also the physiotherapy clinics that are open to external users. Very beautiful is the large church inserted in the building and dedicated to the Good Shepherd, where the community of four nuns in charge of the house and the elderly guests meet for prayer and celebrations, while on Sundays many Catholic faithful from the vicinity converge for the festive Mass.

Every day the nuns also organize a soup kitchen for the homeless, who in Romania and in particular in Iași are quite a significant number. The Guanellians started this service in 2002, when the phenomenon was more widespread and at least a hundred meals had to be prepared daily; lately the situation has improved, but it does not go below fifty people to whom at least one hot dish is served every day.

From the presence of the Daughters of Santa Maria della Provvidenza a community of Guanellian Cooperators was born, lay people who carry out regular volunteer work in the retirement home (and soon also in the men's home for the disabled, recently inaugurated), but they also lend themselves to the surrounding parishes, organizing days for the poor and preparing food parcels for needy families. Currently, divided into three groups, they reach twenty, but they are destined to increase since there are various requests from aspiring members

Finally, as good sisters, the nuns collaborate with the Servants of Charity, now transferred to their own house which is located just beyond a small canal that separates the two works. The nuns assist the Guanellians with the kitchen and the wardrobe, while the Servants of Charity offer pastoral service, typical of priests; both communities cultivate good relationships, as brothers and sisters that the unique heart of Saint Luigi Guanella has generated. Thus, their precious experience of closeness continues in Romania, which has marked the common history, humble and fruitful of many charitable enterprises inspired by the holy Founder.