Blessed Edmund Bojanowski
Blessed Edmund Bojanowski (born November 14, 1814 AD in Grabonóg, Greater Poland, Poland; died August 7, 1871 AD in Górka Duchowna, Greater Poland, Poland) was a Polish Catholic layman and social reformer who founded the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate (Little Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary), devoted to the care of poor children, the sick, and the elderly in rural Poland. Sickly from childhood and unable to enter the priesthood, he devoted his entire adult life to works of mercy — founding rural kindergartens, village reading rooms, and charitable associations — and to training laywomen to serve the rural poor. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 5, 1999, in Warsaw. His feast day is August 7.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Edmund Bojanowski
| Blessed Edmund Bojanowski | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | August 07 |
| Profession | Catholic layman; social reformer; publisher; cultural activist; founder of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate (1850); pioneer of rural kindergartens in Poland; literary man and poet; Poznań intellectual; man of charity |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Polish Catholic tradition; lay apostolate; 19th-century Polish Catholic reform; Greater Poland Catholicism; Immaculatist Marian devotion |
| Patronage | Poland; Greater Poland; rural kindergartens; social workers; lay founders of religious communities; the poor; children; those who suffer from tuberculosis; those whose plans are redirected by illness; Polish laity |
| Attributes | Cross; book (his writing and publishing); child (his kindergartens); August 7 feast; Polish eagle; Immaculate Mary medallion |
| Birthplace | Grabonóg, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland |
| Death Place | Górka Duchowna, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland |
| Cause of Death | Natural death following prolonged illness; died August 7, 1871, at Górka Duchowna in Greater Poland; he was 56 years old; he had suffered from tuberculosis and other illnesses throughout his life — his persistent poor health had prevented him from entering the priesthood; he died at the motherhouse of the congregation he had founded; he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 5, 1999, in Warsaw |
| Primary Shrine | Górka Duchowna, Greater Poland, Poland — motherhouse of the Sisters Servants; August 7 feast; JPII beatification June 5 1999, Warsaw |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman calendar; August 7 feast in Poland and with the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar |
Biography
Edmund Bojanowski was born November 14, 1814, at Grabonóg in Greater Poland — then under Prussian rule — into a noble Polish Catholic family. He studied at Wrocław and Munich but was prevented by persistent ill health (tuberculosis) from pursuing the priesthood.
He devoted himself to works of mercy and cultural activism in the Poznań region — writing, publishing, and organizing among the rural poor. In 1849 he established the first village kindergartens (ochronki) in Poland, staffed by trained laywomen caring for the children of the rural poor.
In 1850 he formally founded the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate to carry on this work of caring for poor children, the sick, and the elderly in rural villages.
He died August 7, 1871, at Górka Duchowna, at 56 years of age. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 5, 1999, in Warsaw. His feast day is August 7.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Grabonóg, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Death location: Górka Duchowna, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Dynamic content
Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Edmund Bojanowski have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
Dynamic shrines
No results
No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
Feast day
August 7
Veneration
Blessed Edmund Bojanowski (1814–1871) was a Polish Catholic layman of Greater Poland who founded the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate and pioneered village kindergartens for the rural poor — a creative lay apostolate born from his inability (due to tuberculosis) to enter the priesthood; beatified John Paul II in Warsaw, June 5, 1999. Feast August 7.
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.