The oldest nun in Italy: “Find the time to pray, you will live long and happy”

A Guinness nun. Mother Aderita Guidolin has crossed the milestone of 108 years: she is the oldest nun in Italy. Is there a secret, with good health, to living this long? “I have no particular secrets of longevity – the very lucid mother of the Elizabethan order tells Adnkronos -. The Lord willed it. But I pray every day, find all the time to do it. You will live longer and happier”. Mother Guidolin lives in a retirement home in Villafranca Padovana together with 160 other nuns. Yesterday she was also celebrated for 108 years by the mayor of her hometown. The vocation came early, at the age of 17. A symbol in the face of the crisis of vocations not only in Italy, but throughout Europe: “Not that I feel a symbol but this remains a secret between me and the Lord”, he says laughing heartily. Mother Aderita spent her life for the least, working in the parish but also in the missions of the Elizabethan nuns in Libya and later in Egypt. Then he returned to Italy, where he worked for a family home near the Padua station. “Seeing the trains leave – says mother Aderita – made my day happy, my mind traveled with them.” . It was hard right away, as for everyone; little by little we try to return to normality but we are not out of it yet. I also pray so much that the Lord will free us from the pandemic, but we must all do it “. Pope Francis was also the object of the prayers of the Guinness nun: “May the Lord help him. He needs it so much!”. Mother Aderita survived two wars and remained the only one alive in the family, she has many grandchildren who visit her as soon as they can. She doesn’t think about taking leave of this life: “Next year there will be 109!”.