Elisa Angela Meneguzzi, who took the name Liduina in religious life, was born to a peasant family in northern Italy. At fourteen she entered domestic service, working for the next ten years in hotels and for wealthy families until she quit and joined the Sisters of the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales.  

In 1937 she was sent to the Ethiopian town of Dire Dawa— at the time under Italian rule. For the next two years she served as a nurse in the city hospital. With the outbreak of World War II, the hospital was taken over by the military. Liduina cared for wounded soldiers of all colors and creeds, including Catholics, Copts, and Muslims. She spoke to them all of the goodness of God and the promise of heaven. In turn she was treasured as an “angel of charity.”  

After enduring bombing raids and every kind of violence, Liduina was diagnosed with cancer. She died on December 2, 1941. Her ecumenical witness, courage, and spirit of charity were remembered by all who had known her. She was beatified in 2002. The decree on her heroic virtue noted, “The message that Blessed Liduina Meneguzzi brings to the Church and the world is that of hope and love. A kind of love that is a spur to solidarity, to sharing, and to service.”  

“In the course of her brief but intense life, Sr. Liduina poured herself out for her poorer and suffering brothers.” 

—Pope John Paul II