MARIA PILEGGI

June 23, 1939 a baby was born in Capistrano who, with the years, would have proven to be a very special human being.  The little girl was named Maria by her parents Michele Mendaglio and Palma Tucci. She grew up near the church and when she became a  young woman she married Saro Pileggi, also a capistranese.  The two had four children: Rocco, Palma, Concetta and Michelina. 

 Maria, Saro and their four children left Italy in 1963 and established themselves in Montreal, Canada, where they raised their children with many sacrifices. In Montreal, they had two more children: Tony and Alba.

 In 1968, their eight-year-old daughter, Palma, started feeling poorly.  In fact, one painful day that year, she suddenly lost most of her eyesight.  The cause: liquid in her brain caused by tumors.  That fateful day began a true ordeal for both Palma and her parents. Over the years, Palma had 14 operations to remove the tumors that grew continually on the surface of her brain.

 Once most of Maria’s children were married, her husband, Saro, decided to return to Italy. “To make him happy,” Maria went along and they returned to Capistrano with their daughter Palma.

They lived in Capistrano for four years, but, when the husband became ill, they had to return to Montreal.  Back in Canada doctors found that he had widespread bone cancer and that his condition was incurable. All of a sudden, Maria found herself having to look after two very ill family members.

 Despite the great stresses, Maria remained strong, sweet and very loving towards both her husband and her daughter.  She looked after her husband at home, until his death and did so with courage and much love.

 After her husband’s death, her daughter Palma showed further deterioration. Her hearing started deteriorating as well and she started losing control over her balance.

Palma needed doctors, specialists and hospitals continually.  So as not to trouble her married children who had to work, she would take Palma for various needed tests by taking a bus. She did this in spite of severe back and knee problems. Recently, given Maria’s health deterioration, her children have joined in and help their sister Palma gladly, whenever needed.

What makes Maria an angel is her incredible mental strength, her unparalleled sweetness, her endless patience and the great love she shows toward her family and friends.

 We family members are unanimous that Maria Mendaglio is a true angel.  As a mother, aunt, sister, or friend she is unsurpassable and certainly deserves to be called a “Capistrano Angel.”

 Maria's Nephew