STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — For most of us, a reflection is an image or reminder of who we are. But what if you don’t know the answer to that question? A central Ohio woman has spent the last 31 years trying to rediscover who she is.
Mary B. Relotto was adopted at a young age through an agency in the Catholic church after her mother gave her up for adoption in Italy.
“I was also so curious. I didn’t long for a family because my life was bad, at all. I longed to know more about myself. Who am I?,” said Relotto.
She came to the United States with her brother, John, after her birth mother, Anna Maria, couldn’t take care of her.
“She didn’t have a piece of bread to give us. That’s what she told us,” Relotto said.
Her adoptive parents went to church in Steubenville in hopes of repairing their marriage after they were on the brink of a divorce.
“If you have children, it will save your marriage," said Relotto.
Relotto said she doesn’t regret her life in Ohio. She’s been surrounded by loving parents, friends and had a great education. But she always wanted to know more.
“Blood is thicker than water. You can’t escape a blood connection,” she said.
When she and her brother turned 18, their father gave them information about their adoption. That led her on a journey to Italy in 1992, after connecting with one of her sisters.
“I wanted more. I wanted to know who my birth mother was and if we had other siblings,” said Relotto.
Together Relotto and her sister found their other siblings, her birth mother, Anna Maria, and her birth father, Andrea.
In one day, her history revealed itself.
“It’s kind of crazy because it’s like ‘This is really happening.’ It’s so surreal. It’s like, I don’t know who these people are, but we all met all of them that day. Most of them,” said Relotto.
Her birth mother Anna Maria is like a reflection of herself.
“Looking at her, it's like you finally belong. It’s like ‘Wow, this is really her,” said Relotto.
Being adopted into America, it was more than an ocean that separated Relotto from her family and culture.
“Keep me in Italy. I lost my language, my culture, the inability to have in-depth conversations with my siblings,” said Relotto.
She has spent the last 30 years going back and forth to Italy, reconnecting and building a relationship with her birth family. Just this summer, she started calling Anna Maria a different name.
“Today for the first time, I call her mom,” said Relotto.
Relotto feels the church pressured her parents to adopt.
10TV reached out to the Diocese of Steubenville, where Mary was adopted. A spokesperson told 10TV they are unable to comment and the priest who managed the adoption passed away in 2010.