SISTER MARTA WIECKA 1874 1904 Daughter of Charity

SISTER MARTA WIECKA 1874 -1904 Daughter of Charity on the road to sainthood 1

Rumors of a Saint In August 1990 Daughters of Charity from Krakow, Poland came to the town of Sniatyn, Ukraine to search for the grave of a holy woman, revered by the local population as “Matushka. ” 2

They discovered that “Matushka ” was a Daughter of Charity named Sr. MARTA WIECKA. 3

In Sniatyn, people of all creeds -Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Orthodox, and even nonbelievers -regarded Sr. Marta as their Mother (Matushka) and Sister (Monashka) who would listen to their prayers and obtain for them graces and favors. 4

Who was Sr. Marta Wiecka? Marta was the third of 13 children born to a wealthy land owner Marcelino Wiecki and his wife, Paulina (Kamrovska) Wiecka. There were six daughters and seven sons, three of whom died in infancy and five others died at a young age. Nowy Wiec: the village of the Wiecka family 6

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Vocation At the age of 16 Marta tried to enter the Daughters of Charity in the town of Chelmno, but was told that she was too young. Provincial House in Chelmno 8 8

At the age of 18 Marta tried again to join the Daughters of Charity in Chelmno, this time with her friend Monika Gdaniec. Because the occupying government of Prussia restricted the number of aspirants the religious community in Chelmno could accept, Marta and her friend approached the Daughters of Charity in Krakow. 9

Formation 26 March 1892 – Postulatum 12 August 1892 – Seminary 21 April 1893 – Sent on Mission Daughters of Charity Provincial House, Krakow 10

21 April 1893: Sr. Marta was sent on her first mission to a hospital in Lvov. Once there she quickly gained the reputation as a Sister who loved her patients and serve them with great 11 devotion.

A year and a half later on 15 November 1894, she was missioned again to a hospital in Podhajce. Here for the next five years she tirelessly 12 12

In 1902 Sr. Marta was sent to serve at a hospital in the town of Bochnia. Shortly after she arrived, a patient at the hospital became jealous of the care she gave to a young man with tuberculosis. 13

This patient spread the rumor that Sr. Marta was having an AFFAIR with the young man and that she was PREGNANT! The parish priest heard the rumors and demanded that superiors remove Sr. Marta! 14

But her Sister Servant Sr. Maria Chablo insisted that Sr. Marta “is an innocent soul completely given to God. I can be as sure of her as I am of myself!” Sr. Marta stayed on in Bochnia for two more years and was completely vindicated. 15

In 1902 Sr. Marta was missioned to the hospital in the town of Sniatyn. Here her sanctity would shine for all to see. 16 16

The two short years that Sr. Marta served in Sniatyn, people of all creeds – and no creed at all – came to admire and love her. Why? – because of her extraordinary LOVE, her PRAYER, and her SERVICE. 17

Sr. Marta took the place of a family man whose job it was to clean the typhus ward. She contracted typhus. 18

In her illness she was surrounded by her Sisters and her brother Fr. Jan. On 30 May 1904, at the age of 30, Sr. Marta died. 19

Since 1904, through two world wars and Soviet occupation, … 20

…the people of Sniatyn and surrounding areas have come with their needs and prayers … 21

…to the grave of their “Matushka, ” Sr. MARTA WIECKA. 22

They know what the Catholic Church is just beginning to determine … Sr. Marta Wiecka is a SAINT! 23

Lvov Cathedral, 26 June 1997: the process for canonization begins. 10 October 2003: Metropolitan Curia of Krakow accepts a miracle which allows for her beatification. 24