Our beloved cụ Maria Clara Nguyễn Thị Thảo was born in the year 1933 in Nghĩa Hương, Quốc Oai in northern Việt Nam, the child of Nguyễn Văn Thuyên and Lê Thị Bề. Her mother’s family had a silkworm farm that produced silk fabric, while her father’s family were rice farmers. Thảo was the youngest child in her adoring family, the beloved con út, of six children. Her older sister Nguyễn Thị Thế and brother Nguyễn Văn Lương survived into adulthood, while 3 other siblings died as children. Thảo nearly died herself as a child during a sickness when she did not eat for 14 days. But she survived, thanks to the loving care of her mother and family.

She also survived the famine precipitated by Japanese occupation in Northern Việt Nam from 1944-1945, during which an estimated 1-2 million people died of starvation. Her family is known for their generosity during this time, sharing rice crops they had with other villagers. A plaque still exists in their village commemorating her family’s contributions during this time. In 1948, when she was 15 years old, Thảo’s father was killed by a Vietnamese soldier hired by French colonizers who were searching for insurgents in villages. Several other villagers were killed on the same day, including Thảo’s cousin Nguyễn Văn Vinh.

A year before that at age 14, Thảo had been betrothed for marriage to Nguyễn Văn Lưu, who she married at the age of 16. This was considered “old” at the time, but Thảo’s mother regretted letting her older sister Thế marry at the age of 14, and vowed that Thảo would marry later. In 1952, at 19 years old, Thảo gave birth to her only child, daughter Nguyễn Thị Thơm.

In 1954, at the end of French colonization when Việt Nam was divided into North and South Việt Nam by the Geneva Accords, Thảo fled to the South with her 2 year old daughter. In the chaos, they lost contact with Thơm’s father, Lưu, whom they would not see in person again until 1997. Thảo raised Thơm by herself in the South, first in Nha Trang while working as a cook for a Catholic priest, then later moving to Sài Gòn where she could find better work and education for her daughter.

In Sài Gòn, Thảo worked as a housekeeper/cook, bánh cuốn seller, and finally at the French pharmaceutical company Roussel, to provide for herself and her daughter. She was very proud that Thơm attended the prestigious Couvent school in Sài Gòn, the Virgo Maria school of the Franciscan Sisters in Đà Lạt and passed the French baccalaureate exams. Thảo purchased her own home in the city center, where she lived with daughter Thơm, cousin Nguyễn Thị Thanh and Thanh’s three daughters Huệ, Hoa, and Hà.

On September 17, 1961 (the Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis), Thảo was received into the Secular Fransiscan Order. On October 4, 1963 (the Feast Day of St. Francis) she was Professed into the Order, and on April 16, 1971 (the anniversary of the founding of the Fransciscan First Order, in 1209) her Final Profession took place.

A few days before Sài Gòn fell on April 30, 1975, Thảo and her daughter Thơm, together with cousin Thanh and her three daughters, fled the city on a Navy boat. After a long journey through refugee camps in the Philippines, Guam, and Fort Indiantowngap, PA, Thảo and Thơm were sponsored as refugees and started a new life in Providence, Rhode Island. After Thơm married Trần Văn Tâm in 1976, the family relocated to MA. In 1980, Thảo’s first granddaughter, Trần Nguyên Anh, was born, and in 1985, her second, Trần Nguyên Kim was born, making Thảo bà ngoại. Thảo was called bà by many children - between 1980 and 1998 she was the nurturing, main caregiver of Kay, Bình Minh, Phương Đông, Renita, Jenny, Brian, in addition to her granddaughters Anh and Kim.

In 1989, together with her older brother Lương, Thảo began rebuilding the Catholic church (nhà thờ Vĩnh Phúc, est. 1940) in her home village in northern Việt Nam, which was completed in 1990. The church still stands today, and serves as an important landmark in the community with Mass every Sunday and other holidays. Thảo was able to visit the church in person during trips to Việt Nam in 1997 and 2001.

After 21 years living in the country, Thảo became a naturalized citizen of the United States on June 14, 1996. She embarked on numerous pilgrimages in her lifetime, including to the Holy Land twice; Rome & Assisi, Italy; Lourdes & Lisieux, France; Fátima, Portugal; Medjugorje, Bosnia & Herzegovina; and was a regular attendee of the annual Ngày Thánh Mẫu Marian Days Festival in Carthage, Missouri, where 100,000 Vietnamese Catholics continue to gather each summer, since 1978.

In 2010 and 2012, two of Thảo’s greateat joys were born: great granddaughter Sarah Thảo Wall, who is named after her; and great grandson Adam Sáng Wall. She was very proud to be cụ to her two precious great grandchildren or chắt. She helped raise Sarah and Adam until they were 3 years old. In 2023, Thao celebrated 60 years of being processed in the Secular Franciscan Order, with many family and community members present. After a 3 year battle with colon cancer, she passed peacefully on March 20, 2026. We are so blessed to have her presence in our lives during her long journey from beloved út to beloved cụ.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating Thao's life will be held in Saint Clement Church, 70 Warner Street, Somerville on Saturday April 18th at 10:00am. Visiting hours will be held at A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home, 865 Main Street, Malden on Friday April 17th from 4:00pm-8:00pm.

Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden.