150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS
In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (16)
Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN
Cecilia Siedliska
In close proximity to the home and hospital of St. Francis of Rome, which I wrote about in my last post, is the Basilica of St. Cecilia. St. Cecilia is the Patron Saint of another companion of Francis, who came with her to Rome in 1875. This was our Foundress’ Mother, Cecilia Marianna, née Morawska.
Mrs. Cecilia was born in 1821. Her father was Józef Aleksy Morawski (1791 – 1855) – who held many important state posts; he was, among other things, a senator, state councillor, director of the Government Commission of Revenue and Treasury and a member of the Administrative Council of the Kingdom of Poland. It was in his palace in Warsaw that Franciszka spent many beautiful moments of her childhood.
Cecilia’s mother, and Franciszka’s grandmother, was Anna Jakubowicz Zbytkower (1788 – 1828). Anna was the daughter of the Jewish merchant and banker Szmul Jakubowicz (a.k.a. Jozef Samuel Sonnenberg), known as Zbytkower, a protege of King August Poniatowski, appointed to represent all the Jews of the Republic, and the progenitor of the Bergson family (his great-grandson was the French philosopher Henri Bergson). Anna’s first husband was another well-known Jewish merchant Lazarus Tischler. Before marrying Jozef Morawski in 1813, Anna converted from Judaism to Catholicism.
Anna and Joseph had seven children, three of whom died in childhood or youth. In 1845, their next son, Jozef, heir to Żdżary, dies tragically. The estate, by his father’s will, passes to the ownership of Cecilia, for three years the wife of Adolf Siedliski and Frances’s mother. A year later, Adam (1846-1893) is born.
Frances’ parents were believers, but in a way characteristic of the time and the sphere to which they belonged. Recalling her childhood, Frances writes openly that “Parents were distinguished by great nobility, honor, and were revered and respected, but God was not the Lord in our home.” She also writes that, unfortunately, “Mom never took care of us.” Devoting adequate time and attention to the children was beyond the capabilities of sick and weak “nervous” Mrs. Cecilia. However, she became her daughter’s companion in her development of her faith and religious vocation, especially after the death of her husband Adolf in 1870. In 1874 she decided to accompany Francis in the founding of a religious community, but the Roman climate or perhaps the demands of the “new life” proved beyond her strength. We do not know when or how she returned to her homeland. Perhaps she was accompanied by the second of the Lublin Tertiaries, Mrs. Aniela Nęcińska, who also decided to return.
Mrs. Cecylia spent the rest of her life in the Therapeutic Institution in Kowanówek near Poznań. We know from surviving correspondence that she felt so comfortable and safe there that she neither wanted to live in Żdżary with her son Adam, nor return to Frances’ religious community. Frances was notified of her death on September 5, 1899 by letter from Dr. Adam Karczewski, then director of the Institution. Since 1991, in the family tomb in Żdżary, there is an urn with soil from the cemetery, where Mrs. Cecilia was buried. The grave has unfortunately not been located.
From the beginning, the Congregation recognized Cecilia Siedliska as one of the Nazareth Sisters. She also had her own religious name. In the list of successively deceased sisters, at number 15 is S. M. Rozalia – Cecilia Siedliska.
I started this post with the memory of St. Cecilia. We will return to her figure in the next section. Her Basilica was often on Francis’ Roman itinerary.
Pictures:
Frances Siedliska with her Parents and Brother Adam – AG CSFN
Józef Morawski – father of Cecylia Siedliska
Józef Morawski’s grave in the Old Powazki Cemetery in Warsaw – Sr. Amata Nowaszewska CSFN
Tomb of the Siedliski family – Żdżary