Marcelina Darowska
Encyclopedia
Blessed Marcelina Darowska (January 16, 1827 – January 5, 1911), was a Polish
nun, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II at the Saint Peter's Square
in Rome in 1996. She was inspired by the Virgin Mary to cofound the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an religious order today active in Poland, Belarus
and Ukraine
.
; later she helped the father in the administration of his farm. It is said that already as a child she was very religious. As her father could not understand this, before his death he obtained her promise, that she would marry and found a family. At October 2, 1849 she married Karol Darowski, a land owner from Podolia
. Her husband died already three years later by typhus
, leaving her with two children, Jozef and Karolina. A year later her son died. She she confessed, not anymore to belong to a human (in Italian: "creature" -di non appartenere più ad alcuna creatura) but to God.
For health reasons she travelled too Berlin, later to Paris. Finally she arrived at April 11, 1853 Rome.
(CR) who became her spiritual director. At May 12, 1854 she spoke her vows of chastity and obedience
in front of him. Kajsiewicz introduced her to a nun, Józefa Karska, who became a close friend. Both women developed the idea of founding a religious community dedicated to the education and support of women in Poland. The new organization, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established in 1857 in Rome. When Karska died from typhus
in 1860, Darowska became the Superior of the congregation
. In 1863 she moved the community to her homeland, and at Jazłowiec, in the Archdiocese of Lviv
, at the donated ruins of the local castle she opened the convent
and a middle school for girls, which soon became an important spiritual and cultural centre.
In 1863 the congregation received the decretum laudis by the pope, in 1874 the final approval was confirmed and in 1889 the constitutions were accepted. In 1883 the congregation erected the Statue of the Immaculate Conception of the Godmother in the convents chapel in Jazłowiec, which was blessed by archbishop
Sigismund Felix Feliński
, and, in 1939, crowned by Polish primate
August Cardinal Hlond.
During her 50 years activity as superior of the congregation, Darowska opened many preschools and schools in rural areas. In later age suffering by heavy cardiovascular disorder and headache, she died on January 5, 1911 in Jazłowiec, aged 83. She left seven convents with 350 sisters.
wrote her: "Praise for your wise work and honour to your merit and goodness". Darowska answered: "I do not look at the results (praise) of our work. Those results do not belong to us. In case that they exist, they belong to God for the good of our beloved and actually divided country".
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
nun, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II at the Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome .-History of St...
in Rome in 1996. She was inspired by the Virgin Mary to cofound the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an religious order today active in Poland, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Childhood and marriage
Marcelina (or Marcellina) Kotowicz was born in Szulaki, then a part of Poland under Russian occupation. Her parents, Jan and Maksymilia Kotowicz, were wealthy landowners. She attended for three years a school in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
; later she helped the father in the administration of his farm. It is said that already as a child she was very religious. As her father could not understand this, before his death he obtained her promise, that she would marry and found a family. At October 2, 1849 she married Karol Darowski, a land owner from Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
. Her husband died already three years later by typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, leaving her with two children, Jozef and Karolina. A year later her son died. She she confessed, not anymore to belong to a human (in Italian: "creature" -di non appartenere più ad alcuna creatura) but to God.
For health reasons she travelled too Berlin, later to Paris. Finally she arrived at April 11, 1853 Rome.
Life as a nun
In Rome she met Fr. Hieronim Kajsiewicz, a Resurrectionist priestResurrectionist Order
The Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is an international Institute of Consecrated Life of men within the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1836 by three men, Bogdan Jański, Peter Semenenko and Hieronim Kajsiewicz in Paris on the heels of the Polish Great Emigration...
(CR) who became her spiritual director. At May 12, 1854 she spoke her vows of chastity and obedience
Vow of obedience
The Vow of Obedience in Catholicism concerns one of the three counsels of perfection. It forms part of the vows that Christian monks and nuns must make to enter the consecrated life, whether as a member of a religious institute living in community or as consecrated hermit...
in front of him. Kajsiewicz introduced her to a nun, Józefa Karska, who became a close friend. Both women developed the idea of founding a religious community dedicated to the education and support of women in Poland. The new organization, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established in 1857 in Rome. When Karska died from typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
in 1860, Darowska became the Superior of the congregation
Congregation (catholic)
The term "congregation" has three usages specific to the Roman Catholic Church. One concerns the Roman Curia, the other two concern religious institutes.- Roman Curia :...
. In 1863 she moved the community to her homeland, and at Jazłowiec, in the Archdiocese of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, at the donated ruins of the local castle she opened the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
and a middle school for girls, which soon became an important spiritual and cultural centre.
In 1863 the congregation received the decretum laudis by the pope, in 1874 the final approval was confirmed and in 1889 the constitutions were accepted. In 1883 the congregation erected the Statue of the Immaculate Conception of the Godmother in the convents chapel in Jazłowiec, which was blessed by archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Sigismund Felix Feliński
Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński
Saint Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, SFO was Archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary. He was canonized on 11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.-Early life:...
, and, in 1939, crowned by Polish primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
August Cardinal Hlond.
During her 50 years activity as superior of the congregation, Darowska opened many preschools and schools in rural areas. In later age suffering by heavy cardiovascular disorder and headache, she died on January 5, 1911 in Jazłowiec, aged 83. She left seven convents with 350 sisters.
Approach and meaning
In 1904, the Polish writer Henryk SienkiewiczHenryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
wrote her: "Praise for your wise work and honour to your merit and goodness". Darowska answered: "I do not look at the results (praise) of our work. Those results do not belong to us. In case that they exist, they belong to God for the good of our beloved and actually divided country".