20th October - Saint Maria Boscardin - Independent Catholic News

20th October - Saint Maria Boscardin - Independent Catholic News: Nurse and nun. St Maria was born in 1888 to a poor Italian family in Brendola. Her father was a violent alcoholic. She was considered not very bright at school, and was called a 'goose' by the local clergy. In 1904, she joined the sisters of St Dorothy and worked in the kitchens and laundry. In 1907, when she took her final vows she became a nurse in the children's diphtheria ward. St Maria nursed soldiers during the First World War.