Born in Cumiana (Turin) May 7, 1856, she was the third child of James and Louise. At the age of twelve, Catherine lost her mother. She was left alone in the house with her nine year old brother. Her eldest brother was a soldier and the second brother passed away when he was still very young. Catherine took care of her little brother because her father was often away for his work. When Catherine was 14, her father remarried and brought home a new mom, but for Catherine, there was only one mother, and she had a hard time accepting this new mother.
At the age of 18, Catherine entered the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Mornese.
When she first arrived, she left her bags by the door for a month. After this period of crisis in her vocation, she became a novice in 1874, and professed her vows in 1875. After a few months spent close to Mother Mazzarello, Catherine was sent to Turin as a student and Vicar in the house next to the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. Both Sr. Catherine Daghero and Sr. Elisa Roncallo, the Superior and her Vicar, were 22 years old. They arrived in Turin, Italy with three other Sisters and went immediately to greet Don Bosco and Fr. Rua. These young Sisters were happy to be close to the founder who was already regarded by everyone as a Saint.
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Sr. Catherine Daghero was a woman of action, with outstanding qualities of practicality, maternal kindness, and wisdom. She had a realistic knowledge of the Sisters, of the works, and of the difficulties. She frequently undertook arduous journeys to meet her Daughters, now scattered all over Italy and abroad: France, Belgium, England, Spain, the Holy Land, Tunisia, Algeria, and South America. From February to May 1895, she was in Palestine. From November 1895 to September 1897, Mother Daghero was in Latin America, visiting Sisters in Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and she even went to the remote villages of Bororos!
Mother Catherine Daghero saw the need to keep in contact with our past pupils. She deemed it important enough to formulate an association for such a cause. In 1897 Mother Daghero instituted the rules for the Association of Past Pupils.
Mother Catherine Daghero enjoyed the support of good collaborators: Mother Emilia Mosca, Sr. Elisa Roncallo and Sr. Enrichetta Sorbone. She governed the Institute with wisdom and maternity. She was keenly aware of the role of mediation that her generation played between the first and subsequent generations of FMA. She died on February 26, 1924, at 68 years old.
In the years that Catherine Daghero was Mother General, the Institute enjoyed a great deal of organization and development. Besides an increased number of Sisters, there was also an incredible number of foundations established, in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Simultaneously, she had a lively concern for the religious and cultural formation of the Sisters, supported and stimulated by the Salesian Superiors, Fr. Michael Rua, Fr. Paul Albera, and Fr. Philip Rinaldi, who goverened the Salesian Congregation in those years.
With Mother Daghero, we can recognize not only a clarification of the spiritual content of the origins with greater clarity, but also the awareness of a spiritual tradition to preserve and pass on to future generations. In addition to this, she promoted openness to the changing needs of society, the Church, and youth. When she was Mother General of the Sisters, in fact, Mother Catherine Daghero made sure each Sister was well-prepared for the specific works of the Institute, and the particular needs that arose in those years when the Sisters had to face the hard situation of the first world war and reconstruction.
Mother Daghero began the tradition of the monthly circular letters to achieve widespread communication with the Sisters and follow their spiritual formation. She opened the Institute to new forms of apostolic demands, like: boarding schools for working girls, to encourage the role of women, and the inclusion of women in the industrialized world. She oversaw the opening of orphanages and charitable works to accommodate orphans and children who survived the war. She saw that schools of all levels were established to educate the youth, preparing them for a new phase of history and culture.
She sent many Salesian Sisters to study. Some Daughters of Mary Help of Christians attended college courses to teach or supervise the first state schools that the Institute opened in Italy. During the period of Mother Catherine Daghero’s governance, she was able to obtain the accreditation of several of our schools. Finally, she organized the Institute into Provinces, to have a more local governmental structure for the Sisters.
