Mazza, Sister Maria Serafina

An oral history of Sister Maria Serafina Mazza, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1923 until 1980. The interview was self-taped in October of 1977.

Sister Maria Serafina Mazza was born on January 13, 1900 in Sersale, Italy. Daughter of Giuseppe Mazza and Rosa Talarico, Serafina Lucia Mazza entered the community on September 8, 1923 at the age of 23 as Sister Maria Serafina Mazza.

Sister Maria Serafina taught briefly in public schools before entering the community, and became a member of the Seton Hill College faculty in 1934, where she taught Italian, Spanish, and French until her retirement in 1976.

Sister Maria Serafina received her B.A. in Spanish with a minor in Education from Seton Hill College in 1930, her M.A. in French from McGill University in 1935, and her Ph. D. in Italian from Columbia University in 1947. She wrote several published works on the Romance languages, most notably a book on the Frontespizian literary movement which was published through Columbia University. She was the first Italian-born member of the community.

Sister Maria Serafina Mazza passed away on July 22, 1980 at the age of 80.