Małgorzata Szewczyk

Małgorzata Szewczyk (1828–1905), a Polish nun, founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sorrowful Mother of God – Seraphic Sisters.

Biography

Lucja Szewczyk was born in 1828 into a Polish family in Wolyn (today Ukraine). In her early childhood she lost her parents and was brought up by her older stepsister. Always feeling the call to religious life, at the age of 20, she entered the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi. Due to the political situation in her occupied Poland, she was not able to formally join any religious Congregation. To strengthen her faith and love for God, in 1870 Lucja undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She was profoundly moved by this experience and decided to devote her life to help the poor, elderly and sick. She confessed her desire to her confessor, Father Honorat Kozminski, who approved of her decision and encouraged her to begin her work. The first step she made was to invite two poor and sick elderly women to live in her apartment. She was taking care of them in secret because any charitable or church activities were strictly forbidden by the decrees of the Russian Emperor, who at the time ruled over Poland. It was not too long before a few more young women moved in with her and joined her in her work. Similar to Lucja, they wanted to devote their life to serving God by helping the poor. Later, to accommodate the growing number and better serve those in need, Lucja decided to buy a house with a garden. As a result, in 1881, following the advice of Father Honorat, Lucja formally founded a new Religious Order, whose aim was to help the poor, sick and most needy of the society. She became the head of the Congregation and took the new name, Mother Malgorzata. As a nun, Mother Malgorzata led a very ascetic life fasting a lot and never shying away from her duties. She led the ever-growing Congregation for 20 years. The last months of her life she spent in Nieszawa. The many years of service took a toll on her and towards the end of her life she developed health problems. Her devoted life came to an end on June 5, 1905. ^[1]With special permission of the church authorities, her body was moved to Oswiecim and located in the church of her Congregation. Since her death, people continuously pray in front of the sarcophagus holding her remains presenting their petitions and asking for her intercession.

The life of Mother Malgorzata Szewczyk can be characterized as a life of infinite love for God, complete trust in His providence, and complete dedication to the service of the needy. She truly believed in Christ's real presence in the Eucharist and recognized the Holy Mass as the most important treasure of the Congregation. To make her life and work visible to the universal Church as a life of a true servant of God, the sisters started the process of her beatification and canonization. The evidence of her heroic life and virtues was seen in many gifts and blessings that people have received through her intercession.

Beatification

On December 20, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree of beatification of Małgorzata Szewczyk. Her beatification took place on June 9, 2013 in Kraków, Poland.

References

External links

• Hagiography Circle
• Saints SQPN