2. 2
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.”
Rumors of a
Saint
4. 4
In Sniatyn, people of all creeds --
Roman Catholic,
Greek Catholic,
Orthodox,
and even non-believers --
regarded Sr. Marta as their
Mother (Matushka) and
Sister (Monashka)
who would listen to their prayers and obtain
for them graces and favors.
5. 5
Who was Sr. Marta Wiecka?
Marta Anna
Wiecka
was born
12 January 1874 in
the town of Nowy
Wiec.
It is now part of
Poland, but then it
was part of
Prussia.
Marta’s
home
in
Nowy
Wiec
6. 6
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
Who was Sr. Marta Wiecka?
6
7. 7
Her foundation in faith
Six days after birth Marta was
baptized in the church in the
town of Szczodrowo.
The strong Catholic faith of
her family nurtured in her a
deep love of God and desire
to serve Him.
The
church
in
Szczodrowo
8. 8
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
9. 9
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.
And they were accepted!
9
10. 10
Formation
26 March 1892 – Postulatum
12 August 1892 – Seminary
21 April 1893 – Sent on Mission
Daughters
of
Charity
Provincial
House,
Krakow
11. 11
21 April 1893: Sr. Marta was
sent on her first mission to a
hospital in Lviv.
Once there she quickly gained the
reputation as a Sister who loved her patients
and serve them with great devotion.
12. 12
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 served the sick as a good nurse and
a faithful Daughter of Charity.
12
13. 13
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.
14. 14
The parish priest heard the rumors and
demanded that superiors remove Sr.
Marta!
This patient spread the rumor that Sr. Marta was
having an AFFAIR with the young man --
and that she was
PREGNANT!
15. 15
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.
16. 16
In 1902 Sr. Marta was missioned to the hospital in the town of Sniatyn.
Here her sanctity would shine for all to see.
`16
17. 17
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
18. 18
Sr. Marta took the place
of a family man whose
job it was to clean the
typhus ward.
She contracted typhus.
19. 19
On 30 May 1904,
at the age of 30, Sr.
Marta
died.
In her illness she was surrounded by her Sisters and her
brother Fr. Jan.
23. 23
They know what the Catholic
Church is just beginning to
determine …
Sr. Marta Wiecka
is a
SAINT!
24. 24
Lviv
Cathedral,
26
June
1997:
the
process
for
canonization
begins.
10
October
2003:
Metropolitan
Curia
of
Krakow
accepts
a
miracle
which
allows
for
her
beatification.
27. 27
After the reading of the act of
Beatification, a Portrait of Sr.
Marta Wiecka by Marcin
Kolpanowicz was unveiled.
Blessed Sr. Marta holds
in her hands her journal
of prayers and reflections.
In the background is a
panorama of the town of
Sniatyn where she is
buried.
35. 35
Sr. Evelyne Franc, Superioress General of the Daughters of Charity,
during her remarks said: “We know that the whole life of Sr. Marta was
an act of love for God whom she recognized in persons who are poor, in
her Sisters, and all those in need, whom she served with gentleness.”
36. 36
Front row seats: Sr Zofia Daniscakova, General Councillor;
Sr. Juana Elizando, previous Superioress General of the Daughters of Charity;
Sr. Margaret Barrett, Assistant General; and
Sr. Evelyne Franc, Superioress General of the Company of the Daughters of Charity.
36
43. 43
LORD GOD,
you called Sister Marta Wiecka
to the
Company of the Daughters of Charity
to follow your Son
and to serve him
in the person
of the poor and the sick.
In response to this call,
Sister Marta gave herself fully
to her Vincentian vocation,
even to the point of giving her life for another. . .
44. 44
. . . We thank you, Lord,
for the holiness
and service
which we see in the life
of your servant Sister Marta.
Through her intercession,
please grant us
the following favors,
if they be in accord
with your holy will.
(Name the intentions.) . . .
45. 45
. . .We ask this
in humility and confidence
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
a
Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory to the Father...
a
O Mary conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you.
