Mary Clara Nanetti was an Italian nun and missionary belonging to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. Born Clelia Nanetti in 1872 in Occhiobello, Italy, she entered her religious order in 1892. She traveled to Taiyuan, China, in 1899 as part of a group of seven sisters tasked with establishing an orphanage. During the Boxer Rebellion, she refused to renounce her religious convictions, leading to her death during the Taiyuan massacre in July 1900.
Life and mission
After joining her order in 1892, Nanetti took the name Maria Chiara. In 1899, she moved to the Shanxi province to support missionary efforts, including the creation of a hospital and an orphanage. While working to learn local customs and languages, the community faced increasing danger from the Boxer Rebellion. Despite advice to flee by changing into local clothing, the sisters remained at their post.
Death and veneration
Nanetti was killed on July 9, 1900, when local groups targeted priests, sisters, and lay workers in Taiyuan. She was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1946 and later canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000 as one of the Martyr Saints of China. The Catholic Church commemorates her and the other Franciscan martyrs on July 9 each year.