On Sunday, September 21st, 2025, the Polish parish of St. Genevieve in Paris hosted a solemn celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. A thanksgiving Mass was presided over by Father Bogusław Brzyś, Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in France, and the homily, referencing the charism and work of the Sisters of Nazareth, was delivered by Father Karol Kowalik.
A large gathering of liturgical servants surrounded the beautifully flower-decorated altar. Around it were portraits of the Holy Family and the Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Franciszka Siedliska, now Blessed Mary of the Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd.
The Sisters of Nazareth from Paris and Courbevoie gathered in the church, led by Sister Dorota Maria Podwalska from Rome, Provincial Superior of the Province of Jesus the Good Shepherd, where the sisters serve in France. They were joined by the Sisters of Charity, many parishioners, friends, and invited guests, as well as staff from the Polish School in Exelmans. Families from the Association of the Sisters of the Holy Family also made up a large group of those present for the celebration.
Word from the Provincial Sister
After Fr. Paweł Witkowski, pastor of the parish, welcomed everyone, Sister Provincial, Dorota Maria Podwalska, spoke. On behalf of everyone, she expressed gratitude to God with the “Te Deum Laudamus” for the 150 years of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. She also thanked the sisters, priests, and all the people who, over the past 150 years, have created this great work of God, begun by Franciszka Siedliska, in cooperation with God’s grace. Sister Provincial recalled how many great things have been accomplished in the Church and in the world over these 150 years through the ministry of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Memories of Mother Maria Teresa Jasionowicz
During the homily, the memory of the late Mother Mary Teresa Jasionowicz, an extraordinary Nazareth nun, was invoked , whom many in attendance still remember. As a child, she was deported to Russia with her family, then followed Anders’s Trail and miraculously survived the fate of the exiles. She recounted her moving memories and experiences in the book “Pamiętam i nie pamiętam” (I Remember and I Don’t Remember). It was there, in exile, that her desire to dedicate herself to serving God emerged. After liberation, she joined the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and devotedly served the Congregation throughout her long life, including as Superior General.
Thanks
At the end, numerous expressions of gratitude were expressed to the sisters. The parish priest thanked the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth for their dedicated work, especially for children and youth, and everyone for their prayers and active and numerous participation in the liturgy of the Holy Mass. The school staff expressed gratitude for the sisters’ long-standing commitment to the work of the Polish School, and the families of the Holy Family Association expressed gratitude for the sisters’ presence in their lives, their spiritual care, and for walking together on the path to holiness.
After the ceremony in the church, everyone gathered for a shared refreshment, prepared on the church grounds of the St. Genevieve parish.
Over 130 years of history of the sisters in France
The foundation of the house in Paris was one of the first Nazareth houses opened by the Mother Foundress, following those in Rome, Krakow, London, and the foundation in the United States. As early as 1891, the Mother Foundress began her first work in Paris, where she opened a school for children. Later, the sisters served in other locations in France.
The sisters were not spared the difficult times of French anticlericalism and the dissolution of Catholic institutions, especially during the implementation of the 1905 law aimed at separating Church and State. Some were forced to leave France, while others remained in hiding, unable to wear the habit or reveal themselves as nuns. When the situation improved somewhat, the sisters moved to the Parisian suburbs of Gentilly, where for many years, albeit in a secular capacity, they ran a parish school. Then, for a short time, they moved to Montrouge, and finally, in 1928, they arrived in Paris, where they opened a student residence on rue de Vaugirard, the “Foyer de la Sainte Famille,” which remains in operation to this day.
During World War II, the sisters experienced suffering at the hands of both the Germans and the Russians and shared the difficult wartime fate of others. Many were deported to Russia, endured arduous exile, were sent to labor camps, and even lost their lives. Several sisters residing in France were also imprisoned in camps.
During this time, eleven Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth from Nowogródek – today the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek – gave an exceptionally eloquent testimony of life and martyrdom. They offered their lives for the fathers of families arrested by the Germans. This sacrifice was accepted. On August 1, 1943, the sisters were taken to the forest and shot, and shortly thereafter, the fathers of families were released and returned to their homes.
At the end of the last century, three sisters began serving Polish students in the Foyer of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Bagneux, which has continued its mission for several years at the “Auxilia” student home in Courbevoie. During this time, the sisters also began assisting in the parish of St. Genevieve, where they remain present to this day, particularly by providing catechesis at the Polish School. As part of their cooperation with the Polish Catholic Mission, the sisters have served generously for many years at the Polish Pilgrim Home “Bellevue” in Lourdes, as well as at the Polish parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in “Concorde,” and at the Polish Catholic Mission office in Paris. In the past, we also carried out our Nazareth mission in religious houses in northern France: in Potigny, Saint Sylvain, and, until recently, in Sallaumines.
To more fully realize the Congregation’s charism towards the family and the mission entrusted to them by the Foundress, the sisters established the Association of the Holy Family, whose members are actively involved in our apostolate.
Today, approximately 1,000 sisters live and serve on all continents in many countries of the world, and two and a half thousand have preceded other Nazareth Sisters on the path of vocation and have already passed into eternity.
By Sr. Joanna Korycińska CSFN
Source: polskifr.fr
Photo: Piotr Fedorowicz
Flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCvkiD
