Maria Bertilla Boscardin was an Italian nun and nurse who displayed a pronounced devotion to duty in working with sick children and victims of the air raids of World War I.

She was born Anna Francesca Boscardin at Brendola, Italy in 1888. The young girl lived in fear of her father, a violent man prone to jealousy and drunkenness. Her schooling was limited so that she could spend more time helping at home and working in the fields. Anna showed few talents and was often the butt of jokes. 

After being rejected for admission to an order because of her slowness, she was accepted as a member of the Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Heart at Vicenza in 1904, taking the name "Maria Bertilla". She herself internalized some of her earlier criticism, telling the novice-mistress of the order, "I can't do anything. I'm a poor thing. Teach me. I want to be a saint." She worked there as a kitchen maid and laundress for three years.

Sister Maria Bertilla was then sent to Treviso to learn nursing at the municipal hospital there. During the air raids of Treviso following the Battle of Caporetto, the hospital fell under the control of the military. Sister Bertilla was noted for her unwavering care of her patients, particularly those who were too ill to be moved to safety.

This devotion to her duty attracted the attention of the authorities of the hospital. But her superioress did not appreciate Sister Bertilla's work and reassigned her to work in the laundry, a position she remained in for four months. However, a higher superior reassigned Sister Bertilla in charge of the children's isolation ward at the hospital.

Shortly thereafter, Sister Bertilla's already poor health got worse. A painful tumour which she had had for several years had progressed to the point of requiring an operation, which she did not survive. She died in 1922.

Her reputation for simplicity and devoted, caring hard work had left a deep impression on those who knew her. Sister Bertilla was canonised as a saint by Pope John XXIII in 1961, 39 years after her death.

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