Blessed Marcelina Darowska
Blessed Marcelina Darowska (born January 16, 1827 AD in Szulaki, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire); died January 5, 1911 AD in Jazłowiec, Galicia (now Ukraine)) was a Polish religious, co-foundress and long-time superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Immaculate Sisters, or Niepokalanki), dedicated to the education of girls. She is venerated as a Blessed of the Church. Her feast day is January 5.
A widow who had known marriage, motherhood, and bereavement, Marcelina Darowska devoted the rest of her life to the Christian and patriotic education of Polish girls, building up a congregation and schools that formed generations of women. She was beatified in 1996.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Marcelina Darowska
| Blessed Marcelina Darowska | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | January 05 |
| Profession | Widow; co-foundress and superior general of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (Niepokalanki) |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Niepokalanki) |
| Patronage | Educators of girls; the Immaculate Sisters; Poland |
| Attributes | Religious habit; teaching; the Immaculate Conception |
| Birthplace | Szulaki, Ukraine (Russian Empire) |
| Death Place | Jazłowiec, Galicia (Ukraine) |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; widow, co-foundress and superior general of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (Niepokalanki); died at Jazłowiec |
| Primary Shrine | Jazłowiec (Ukraine) / Szymanów, Poland |
Biography
Marcelina Darowska was born Marcelina Kotowicz on January 16, 1827, at Szulaki in the Ukrainian lands then under the Russian Empire, into a Polish landowning family of deep faith. Though she had wished to enter religious life, she married, in obedience to her father, and became the wife of Karol Darowski and the mother of children. Within a few years, however, she was left a widow, and she also suffered the death of one of her children.
After this bereavement she felt again the call to consecrate herself to God, and she went to Rome, where she met the priest Hieronim Kajsiewicz and Józefa Karska, with whom she took part in founding, in 1857, a new congregation devoted to the education of girls: the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in Polish as the Niepokalanki. After the early death of Karska, Marcelina became the principal foundress and, for over four decades, the superior general and guiding spirit of the congregation.
She established the mother house and a boarding school at Jazłowiec, in Galicia, and founded other houses and schools. Her educational vision aimed at forming Polish girls and young women in solid Catholic faith, virtue, culture, and love of their nation—an important work at a time when Poland was partitioned among foreign powers and its language and identity were under pressure. She wrote extensively on education and the spiritual life.
Marcelina Darowska died at Jazłowiec on January 5, 1911. She was beatified on October 6, 1996, by Pope John Paul II. Her feast is kept on January 5.
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