Maria Assunta Pallotta was an Italian nun of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary who served in China during the early 20th century. Born in 1878 in Force, she joined her religious order in Rome and later requested to serve in Chinese leper colonies. Following the Boxer Rebellion, she traveled to the Shanxi province, where she worked in an orphanage and learned Mandarin. She died in Taiyuan in 1905 after contracting typhus, famously requesting the sacraments and expressing her devotion to the Eucharist in her final moments.
Religious life
After joining the Franciscan order, she served in various capacities, including working in kitchens and tending to livestock. In 1904, she made her final vows and departed for the missions in China. During her time in Shanxi, she served as a cook in an orphanage. She was known for her deep devotion to the souls in purgatory and her desire to live a life of pure intention for God.
Veneration
Following her death, reports of a fragrant scent in her room led to interest in her sanctity. After her remains were found to be incorrupt during an exhumation in 1913, her cause for beatification progressed through several stages. Pope Pius XII officially beatified her on 7 November 1954, after two miracles were recognized. Her feast day is observed on 7 November.