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CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH
Blessed Frances Siedliska - Nov. 21
Frances Siedliska was born on November 12, 1842. Because her family was of nobility, she spent her childhood amidst ease and comfort. Frances' excellent education, including the arts, was entrusted to tutors. From her early childhood, Frances became sensitive to the action of grace in her soul. An ardent love and reverence for God awakened in her soul and intensified as the years passed. She was attracted to a contemplative life. In 1875, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth began under the leadership of Mother Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd. She presented to Pope Pius IX plans for the Congregation. Mother Mary desired that her Congregation transcend national boundaries and be dedicated to the universal Church and its needs. Her desire to spread the Kingdom of God to all corners of the earth began to realize as homes were opened in Poland, France, England and in 1885, in the United States. The number of women entering the Congregation increased rapidly during the formative years of the community. On November 21, 1902, at the time of her death, 29 foundations had been established in the 27 years of the young Congregation's history. On April 23, 1989, Mother Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd was declared Blessed in an official ceremony of the Church. Her Feast Day is November 21, the date of her death.
Martyred Sisters of Nowogrodek - Aug. 1
In August of 1929, two members of the Order of the Holy Family of Nazareth arrived in Nowogrodek, Poland, to open a school. At first, the Sisters were not welcomed, but with time and patience they were able to overcome the animosity of the townspeople. Eventually, more Sisters arrived and by the time of the Second World War, twelve members of the Holy Family were missioned in Nowogrodek. Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, and on September 17, Russian troops entered and occupied eastern Poland. While Nowogrodek remained under the control of the communist Russians, the twelve women religious were not allowed in their school or convent, not allowed to wear their religious habits and had to rely on the generosity of the townspeople to provide them with food and shelter. By 1941, the town was in German hands and the Sisters were allowed to return to their convent and wear their habits once again. It would seem the situation had improved; but then the terror started. The Nazis began rounding up Jews and shooting them in the village square. Non-Jewish men were often arrested and either killed or deported to concentration camps. In July, 1943, Sister Mary Stella, the superior, and her companions prayed that the suffering townspeople might be spared further suffering. The prayer was simple and direct: "O God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us who are free from family obligations. Spare those who have wives and children." Unexpectedly, on July 31, a Nazi official ordered the Sisters to report to the commissar's building that evening. Afraid they would be separated and perhaps sent to Germany for forced labor, the Sisters nonetheless went to meet their captors. One older sister, Sister Malgorzata, remained behind praying. The Sisters walked through the town and into the building. The Sisters were kept in the basement of the building until early in the morning of August 1. Then, they were put in a van and driven to the woods outside the town. In the woods they said good-bye to each other and received the blessing of their superior. Then they knelt in front of the open grave. One by one, as the bullets were fired, the Sisters fell into the grave. After the last victim fell, the grave was filled with dirt and the soldiers returned to their barracks. A few days later the local priest, Father Zienkiewicz, and Sister Malgorzata began hearing rumors that the Sisters had been executed in the woods. It was not until five weeks later that Sister Malgorzata was able to sneak into the woods to search for the grave. When she found it, she marked the grave and periodically returned to care for it until the war ended. At the war's end, Nowogrodek was considered part of Russia and the townspeople were told they would be deported. Fearing the grave would be forgotten, Father Zienkiewicz and Sister Malgorzata had the bodies exhumed and buried near the church. It was not until 1990, when Poland was free of its communist rulers that the cause for beatification of these brave martyrs was opened. The Martyrs of Nowogrodek were beatified in 2000.
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