Daughters of Charity & Poland & Province of Warsaw & Superior General admin | 14 Nov 2009
Superior General in Poland - Daughters of Charity, Province of Warsaw (VI)
Sixth day of Superior’s General visit to Poland was dedicated to Daughters of Charity from Province of Warsaw. Most of the day Fr. Greg spent in the Provincial House at Tamka Street and two different works of the Province - Nursing House for elderly women at Solec Street, Warsaw and Special Education Center and Kindergarten in Lbiska-Pechery near Piaseczno. We can share the story about visit thanks to generosity and collaboration of Sr. Stanislawa Kokosza DC, the Visitatrice and Sisters from the Provincial Secretariat.
Visit to Daughters of Charity began in the community at St. Francis de la Salle Nursing Home at 36a Solec Street. Superior General arrived there at 9 a.m. coming from Holy Cross parish accompanied by the Visitor and the Provincial Secretary. Provincial officers - Sr. Stanislawa Kokosza DC, the Visitatrice, Sr. Maria Leszczynska DC, the Assistant, Fr. Kazimierz Malzenski CM, Director of the Province and Sr. Agnieszka Szerewicz DC, Servant Sister of the Solec community welcomed them.
Residents of the house welcomed Honorable Guest with big bunch of flowers. Superior General met Sisters working in the nursing home, lay staff and residents in the recreation room. Next, he visited those of the patients who are most sick in their beds. He bowed over the most sick like good Father with generosity, joy and simplicity.
At 10 a.m., Superior General together with Sr. Visitatrice, Sr. Assistant and Fr. Director arrived to Provincial House of Daughters of Charity Province of Warsaw. This is the house which can be considered a Motherhouse of the Company in Poland. Sisters from the Provincial House and delegates from other communities gathered in the yard. With joyous singing heard around, Superioress of the Provincial House, Sr. Weronika Banasiak DC welcomed the Honorable Guest with big bunch of flowers expressing the hope of all community to hear the faternal strenghtening words of encouragement, guidelines to continue living acording to the charism of Holy Founders. Sisters emphasized, that opportunity to meet a successor of St. Vincent de Paul at the beginning of Jubilee Year of 350th anniversary of death of holy Founders is a special grace and great award for them. Superior General responded in few words to this warm welcome. Afterwards all gathered went to the chapel for short provate prayer.
From the chapel Fr. Greg. went to meet Senior Sisters in their Oratory and sick Sisters from the Infirmary. Sisters welcomed the Father warmly. The General addressed them shortly. He emphasized on how important this stage of life, which Seniors get through is. He describes it as the most important part of all service the Sisters lived in the Company. He assured Sisters, he would forward their greetings for Mother General, Sr. Evelyne Franc DC, as well as assured Senior and Sick Sisters to remember them in his prayers.
Meanwhile, other Sisters numerously present in the House gathered in the Chapel of St. Casimir. At 11 a.m. the Eucharist presided by Superior General started. The concelebrants were Fr. Arkadiusz Zakreta CM, Visitor, Fr. Kazimierz Malzenski CM, Director of the Province, Fr. Adam Borowski CM, Provincial Secretary, Fr. Ludwik Woerzcholowski CM, Fr. Piotr Rutkowski CM and Fr. Eugeniusz Dobkowski CM, the chaplain of the Provicial House.
At the beginning Fr. Director welcomed the General as Dear Pilgrim peregrinating Polish land and inveited him to visit our homeland again in regard of Jubilee of 300 years since erection of Polish Province of Daughters of Charity in Warsaw, which will be held in 2012. Fr. Director welcomed concelebrant priests as well.
In homily during the Eucharist, Superior General alluded to Word of God from the liturgy. He pointed two aspects of our vocation which should be joined - evangelization and the ministry. Fr. General emphasized the role of the service, especially for the Poor and marginalized. We must invite the Poor to the table to show love of of God toward them.
After Mass, the spiritual feast, there came time for corporal feast - lunch. It was followed by another, warm expected moment of the visit - meeting with the Sisters in the Assembly Room. Sister Visitatrice expressed joy of all the community of the meeting with Superior General, in whose person St. Vincent visited Provincial House. She recalled the moment when first Daughters of Charity were sent to Poland by Holy Founders themselves. She presented the history of the Company in Poland and outlined its activities today. She highlighted special character of this visit because of Jubilee Yera of 350th anniversary of death of Holy Founders and preparations to another jubilee - 300 years since Polish Province in Warsaw was erected in 1712. Visitarice gave thanks for the Faternal words and assured Superior General of whole community prayers in his intention.
Beginnings of Province of Warsaw of Daughters of Charity were marked by arrival of Daughters to Poland during life of the Founders. It happened in 1652. First three Sisters started their service on December 8, 1652 in Warsaw. Both Daughters and Vincentians could come to Poland thanks to queen of Poland, Maria Louise de Gonzaga, wife of king John Casimir. She wanted Daughters to serve in her new homeland. She knew herself both St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac as she collaborated in the work of Ladies of Charity. She wanted Sisters to take care of sick, beggars dying on streets, wounded in combats, crippled veterans, orphans, starvants and homeless. At the beginng they worked in the area close, but only, to the parish of Holy Cross, where Priests of the MIssion olready were present. During the Swedish invasion Daughters of Charity followed the Royal Court across almost all Poland.
On June 7, 1659 Sisters and 15 orphans inhabited wooden mansion in Powisle, at Tamka street, then superbia of Warsaw known as Glinki. It was queen’s donation which became first residence and Maison Mere of Daughters of Charity in Poland. From here Sisters spread their ministry to other districts of Warsaw and other towns and villages in Poland. In 1699, Sisters moved to brick building which construction was secured by the queen.
On March 31, 1712, Superiors General decided, as we read in the Chronicle of Sister Eugenia Chodakowska, “that Houses of Daughters will make a separate Province under administration of Visitatrice, which Sister Maria de Bay was appointed. as she was noticed about this fact in the Circular of Father Bonet which precizes her duties and importance of the post”. In the time of erection Polish Province consisted of 6 houses with 30 Daughters working in them: Central house with the Seminary and Orphanage at Tamka, Warsaw, affiliated house in Pechery, outside Warsaw, Holy Spirit Hospital at Piwna street in Warsaw, St. Roch hospital and school in the Holy Cross parish in Warsaw and affiliated to it the hospital in Szczesliwice, a superbia of Warsaw and parish institution including hospital in Chelmno. The last one will me assigned as Provincial House for another Province of the Company organized on Polish territory after partition.
During the meeting with Sisters, Fr. Greg shared his experience from General Assembly in May. The other theme he focused on was Jubilee Year of 350th Anniversary which began recently in the Vincentian Family. Afterwards Superior General encouraged Sisters to ask questions spontaneously which he openly answered. At the end of the meeting, he came to the chapel for a short prayer again. Next, before leaving, he wrote an inscription the Chronicle of 300th Anniversary of erecting Polish Province of Daughters of Charity in Warsaw and the Book of Guests of the Provincial House.
Finally, all participants of the meeting gathered for memorial photograph shot in the inner yard and bid Superior General farewell, and inviting him to come again. In her final words while greeting Superior General leaving the Provincial House at Tamka, Sister Visitatrice thanked Fr. Gregory Gay “for joy of meeting together, fo his paternal words and fraternal care”. She said, expressing desires of whole Provincial community, “we want to be truly the Daughters of Charity as our Holy Founders desired. We believe, that thanks to Divine grace Superior’s General visit will give more impetus in putting this task into practice”.
From Warsaw, Superior General, the Visitor and the Provincial Secretary headed to Lbiska-Pechery, some 25 miles South of Provincial House. The Visitatrice, the Director of the Province, the Assistant and the Provincial Econome, Sr. Bozena Adamka DC accompanied them. Honorable Guest visited a kindergarten and special care education center in Lbiska staffed and administered by Daughters of Charity.
They arrived at about 3 p.m.. Superioress of the community and principal of the center, Sr. Bozena Dlugowska DC and all Sisters from the community welcomed Fr. Greg. Next the guests moved to playroom in the kindergarden where children welcomed Superior General on their way. There was a time for short performance and Fr. General received gifts - sketched flowers - made by the children. Performing children impressed Superior General very much, what everyone could notice from his gestures and joyful face. He also visited another group of children which Sisters care for - teenagers, retarded and handicapped.
When the meeting was over Superior General and his comapnions went on their way to Krakow. They arived to Stradom House in the very evening.
International viewers can visit our English site to read stories from Superior’s General visit to Poland or follow us on Twitter. Facebook users can visit our page there. There’s a map of places visited by Superior General in Poland, too. Czytaj także pozostałe informacje na temat wizyty Przełożonego Generalnego w Polsce w naszym serwisie. Najświeższe informacje możecie znaleźć w kanale CM_Polonia na Twitterze. Użytkownicy Facebook-a mogą śledzić wizytę na stronie Zgromadzenie Księży Misjonarzy. Polecamy także mapę z zaznaczonymi miejscami odwiedzanymi przez O. Generała.
on 14 Nov 2009 at 6:11 pm 1.Zgromadzenie Księży Misjonarzy said …
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