Religious Sister (1825-1899)
Her life
+ Sophia Truszkowska was born in Kalisz, Poland. A well-educated and pious young woman, she moved to Warsaw to attend an academy for the daughters of wealthy families.
+ In 1848, she had a profound experience of grace that she later considered to be a moment of conversion in her life.
+ Sophia became a spiritual student of the Capuchin priest Blessed Honorat Kozminski. Serving in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, she helped the poor, elderly, and homeless in Warsaw, housing abandoned children in her own home.
+ In 1854, she and one of her cousins rented an apartment, establishing a school, which also became a home for many of the children. Sophia and the children would often pray at a nearby shrine dedicated to Saint Felix of Cantalice. The children came to be known as the “Children of Saint Felix” and Sophia and her companions later became the Sisters of Saint Felix or the “Felician Sisters.” Sophia became known by the religious name “Angela.”
+ Blessed Angela Truszkowka served her community until her death on October 10, 1899. She was beatified in 1993.
For prayer and reflection
“Blessed Mary Angela’s life was marked with love. She was concerned about all people: those hungry for bread, the heartbroken, the homeless, and those hungering for the truth of the Gospel.”—Pope Saint John Paul II at the beatification of Blessed Angela Truszkowska
Spiritual bonus
On October 10, we also remember Saint Teodechilde. The abbess of Jouarre Abbey in Meaux, France, and an esteemed spiritual teacher to her nuns, she died in the early seventh century.
Prayer
O God, who have taught your Church to keep all the heavenly commandments by love of you as God and love of neighbor; grant that, practicing the works of charity after the example of blessed Angela, we may be worthy to be numbered among the blessed in your Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For Those Who Practiced Works of Mercy)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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