Virgin (May 7, 2017)
“I tell you that I was born with the Salesian missionary vocation.”
Antonieta Böhm was born on September 23, 1907 in the city of Bottrop, Germany. At Essen, she met the FMA who had arrived in Germany in 1922. She was fascinated by their serene and apostolic style of life. In 1926, she began her Postulancy in the house of Eschelbach and continued with her Novitiate in Nizza Monferrato, Asti, Italy. She made her first profession in 1928 and remained in Italy to study music while she was also the assistant of the university students and of the Novices.
After making her perpetual profession in Turin on August 5, 1934, she began her missionary life: first in Argentina from 1934 to 1965; then in Peru from 1965 to 1969; and finally in Mexico from 1969 to 2008. She was a music teacher, nurse, vicar, superior and provincial. She always showed herself to be a strong woman, ready to listen, and always confident of the help of God and of Mary Help of Christians. She consolidated the existing works and opened new ones with farsighted vision.
The last years of her life, from 1979 on, were lived in the Villa Spem Community in Coacalco as Vicar and Animator. These were fruitful years for her apostolates as spiritual guide and her efforts in social work in favor of the poor. In 1985, she began the “Obra sabatina,” which consisted of the distribution of food to the neediest. She personally followed the whole organizational team until the year 2000. At that point, she serenely accepted her diminishing strength and knew how to let herself be cared for, edifying the novices and all those who frequented the house. She died on April 27, 2008.
The testament she leaves us is ardent love for Jesus, unlimited trust in Mary Help of Christians, welcoming goodness, and generous, serene availability for the mission to extend the Kingdom of God in the various cultures, in the families, and in the heart of the people. She lived to 100 years of age, 80 years of religious profession, 74 years of missionary life in America, and seven years of formation in Italy.
