Magdalene of Mălainița

Saint Magdalene of Mălainița, whose baptismal name was Măndălina Cătălinici, was a woman from the village of Mălainița in the Timok Valley, in Serbia. She was born on 22 November 1895 and died on 15 October 1962. The Romanian Orthodox Church commemorates her on 15 October.

Her father, Milenko Ilić, was of Serbian descent, and her mother, Milca, was a Romanian of the old Cătălinici family, which had come from Transylvania to the Timok Valley. At her baptism, held on 3/16 December, she received the name Măndălina, that is, Magdalene. The name, it is said, marks her calling to humility and service. People knew her as "the old woman who sang with the priests".

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized her at its session of 1 July 2025, with the title Saint Magdalene of Mălainița, and set her feast on 15 October. The sources we have do not say more about her life.