She was seven years old when World War II was at its height. Her country was heavily bombarded because it was a British colony. Her town was in ruins. For that reason, she had very little schooling—at least she learnt how to read and write. She still remembers those days when the sirens used to announce the coming of an air raid, they would run down to a communal underground shelter. Some rich people had personal shelters dug underneath their houses. Maria’s family was poor. They couldn’t afford such luxury, so they had to contend with seeking refuge with hundreds of other people in a tunnel. Even though Maria still remembers the day of her First Holy Communion vividly, she cannot prove that she actually partook of that Sacrament because, that same day, one of her schoolmates-bullies “jokingly” took her Holy Communion certificate and threw it in a well. She was heartbroken!
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Brother Carmel Duca MC
