150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS

In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (42)

Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN

Piazza Farnese (1878) – Liberata Lanciotti

On October 7, 1878, Frances accepted the first non-Polish candidate, Liberata Lanciotti, into the Congregation. Liberata was born in 1852 in Ciciliano, 40 km from Rome. She was most likely named after the patron saint of the town, St. Liberata, a martyr from the 2nd century. One of the hills, as well as a church and a Maronite monastery in Ciciliano, were named after her. Liberata first joined the Sisters of Reparation, but had to leave due to poor health. During her two-year stay and treatment at her family home, her desire for religious life never left her. This time, on the advice of Father Semenenko, she tried to join the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth… and remained for the rest of her life. On December 8, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, in the presence of Father Semenenko, she began her novitiate. The Foundress gave her the name Maria Luigia, in honor of Aloysius (Luigi) Gonzaga, one of the three youngest Jesuits to be canonized, who died in Rome caring for plague victims. A week later, on December 15, her compatriot Marietta joined Sister Luigia. Unfortunately, after a few weeks, due to health reasons, she returned to her family home.

The admission of the first Italian woman was a clear signal from the Foundress that her Congregation would not be exclusively Polish. This is mentioned by Frances’ first biographer, Archbishop Sardi, who knew her personally: “The wise and pious Foundress did not support the national exclusivity unfortunately encountered in some religious institutions (…). Above all, she wanted her Congregation to be Catholic, that is, universal (…). For this reason, she did not like the name given to them in Rome: Polish Sisters—she resisted this title, recognizing no other than the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.” This is how the Foundress was also perceived by her successor, Sister Laureta Lubowidzka, and her first companions.

Sister Luiga took her first religious vows on August 20, 1881, and her perpetual vows on April 4, 1885, already in the mother house of the Congregation on via Machiavelli. She also died there on January 7, 1919. She was buried in the Campo Verano cemetery in Rome.

Pictures:
View of Ciciliano from the garden of the Santa Liberata monastery – Public domain
Sr. Luigia – Liberata Lanciotti in her early years in Nazareth – CSFN Archives