150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS

In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (46)

Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN

Piazza Farnese (1879 – 1880) – winter weeks

Sister Gabriela Lubowidzka, describing the first weeks after the Capuchins’ departure, writes that Father Gautrelet, who gave Frances a retreat in France, recommended another Jesuit, Father Golinelli, who was serving at the Church of the Stigmata of St. Francis at the time, as her confessor. Frances must have already known Italian quite well, since Sister Gabriela adds: “We, not yet knowing Italian well enough, went to confession to Father Feliński, a Resurrectionist. Father Golinelli played another important role in the history of the congregation, whose Foundress he began to lead. According to our chronicler, upon hearing of the French Jesuits’ desire to unite Frances Siedliska’s community with the Sisters with whom she was staying in Lyon, Father Golinelli “was very much against it, saying that Nazareth was called by God to exist on its own, and that God did not bring His work to life in such a wonderful way and continue to guide it so that it would disappear, merged with another congregation.” This conviction was certainly of great importance to the young Foundress.

The “crucifixion years” mentioned by Father Ricciardi began with a particularly harsh winter, Frances’ illness, and housing problems. Although it rarely snows in the Eternal City and the temperature rarely drops below zero, the Roman humidity can be very unpleasant, especially in an apartment like the one on Piazza Farnese. We can imagine it a little thanks to Sister Gabriela’s description:

“Our apartment was cold, without sunlight, without any means of heating. It consisted of a series of huge, high rooms with stone floors and large windows that were so old they no longer fit in their frames, making the cold indescribable. Our mother breathed this icy air. We burned spirit by our mother’s bed or put a samovar on to boil, to change and soften the sharpness of the air a little, but what did that mean in such a large room?” A few days before Christmas, Frances’ health deteriorated so much that it seemed that her last hours had come. Two Sister ran for Father Golinelli, and two for the doctor, who diagnosed pneumonia. Although the danger to her life passed after a few days, the illness continued for several weeks.

The doctor’s recommendation was clear: move out as soon as possible. However, this proved difficult, as the lease was not due to expire for another year. Brother Stefan quickly found a fairly good place in the Makao district, but it had to be rented immediately. Just as Brother Stefan was telling the Sisters about this, Monsignor Borroni, who lived one floor above them, knocked on the door and said that Cardinal Sanguigni had just arrived from Lisbon and would like to move into their apartment… immediately. There was no other way to interpret this than as “help sent by Jesus.” Sisters immediately went to see the new apartment, and Sister Michaela spoke to the owner of the house on behalf of Frances. All that remained was to draw up the contract and move the belongings, which Sister Michaela also took care of. At the same time, Frances was finishing her meeting with the building manager at Piazza Farnese, during which she terminated the contract and formally handed over the apartment to Cardinal Sanguigni. What a surprise it was for the Sisters when, a few hours later, they saw Sister Michaela with the belongings back in front of the house. They had not foreseen one thing. But more about that in the next episode…

Picture:
Plac Farnese, 1748 – Public domain