Maria Theresa Ledochowska
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Maria Teresa Ledóchowska (29 April 1863 in Loosdorf, Austria - 6 July 1922 in Rome, Italy) was a Catholic nun and African missionary.
Members of the Polish nobility, she and her siblings - including Wlodimir Ledochowski, Ursula Julia Ledochowska and Ignacy Kazimierz Ledóchowski - were born on the estate of their father, Count Antoni Halka-Ledóchowski. Their uncle was Mieczysław Cardinal Ledóchowski.
From 1885 to 1890, Maria Theresa was lady-in-waiting to the grand duchess of Tuscany. She had no feeling for religious life until she read an address by Charles Lavigerie, to whom Pope Leo XIII had entrusted the evangelization of Africa. She began to publicize his cause, which soon attracted donations. She left the court, and, in 1894, organized the Sodality of St. Peter Claver for the African Missions and the Liberation of Slaves an association of laywomen to publicize the missions and administer funds. Leo approved the society on April 29, 1894. In 1897, it became a full-fledged religious order. Maria Theresa became known as "the nursing mother of the African missions." Between 1918 and 1933 the baptisms rose from 1.8 million to 4.9 million.
Pope Paul VI beatified her on October 19, 1975. Her feast day is July 6.
