150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS

In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (35)

Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN

Via Merulana – Nazareth home (1877)

In the already mentioned Chronicle of the Roman House of Sister Gabriela Lubowidzka, we find a description of the convent and the life led by the young community in 1877. In the excerpt quoted below, I have retained the original style and vocabulary, because after all, it is also our history…
“(The house) was already furnished in a monastic style inside – the cells were fresh and pleasant, and the chapel was particularly beautiful. All this was already the work of our Mother, who had already endured many hardships and sorrows with this house – and with the unknown Roman climate – she soon realized that in summer the air in this street was deadly and she herself soon suffered the most from it. However, when we arrived, this house really seemed perfect to us. In the garden, there was a tiny house where Father Leander and Brother Stephen lived. In addition to the three of us, there were already a couple of sisters, the first of whom was Sister Joseph (…). The second sister we found in the cottage was the Frenchwoman Eliza Müller (we know little about her; Father Semenenko wrote in his diary that he spoke to her for the first time on January 5, 1877). So our first group consisted of twelve people. We already had daily Holy Mass, frequent Holy Communion, and we often gathered together with our Mother and listened to Her talk about God’s things. And our Lord and God, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament, staying under the same roof as us, would attract us to our chapel during the day.
The first months in Rome were not easy for the inhabitants of the house on Via Merulana. In July, Frances, fearing the harmful effects of the heat, took the Lubowidzki sisters and girls to Albano, near Rome. Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be gracious for the Foundress. “Driven to extremes,” she left for Paris, taking with her Eliza, who never returned to Rome. Father Leander therefore decided that Laura should go to France so that Frances would not be alone.
Father Semenenko, the General of the Resurrectionists, was also in Paris then. At that time, an event took place that we only know about from his diary. Fr. Piotr most likely took advantage of Frances’ presence in Paris to invite her to Boussu in Belgium, where he attempted (unsuccessfully at the time) to start a Congregation of the Resurrection Sisters by giving habits to two sisters, previously members of another order. Mrs. Winowska, Frances’ biographer, states that the ceremony took place in the castle of Count de Nédonchel. Did Father Piotr want Mother Siedliska to join them with her first sisters? It is difficult to say. Even if so, the young Foundress of the Nazareth Sisters already knew well that it was not right…
From the notes of Fr. Piotr, we know that as late as October, he came to Frances to celebrate Holy Mass and hear her confession. At that time, she lived at 68 Rue du Four. Mother was so ill that she was only able to return to Rome on December 1 (entry in Fr. Peter’s diary; Sr. Gabriela writes that she returned at the end of October). Immediately after her return, she began intensive preparations for an important event in the history of the Nazareth community. But more about that in the next episode…

Images:
View of Albano – Public domain
Boussu, Belgium, Castle of the Count of Nédonchel, 19th century – https://chateaudeboussu.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Villa_Caraman.jpg
Paris, Rue du Four, 1866 – https://vergue.com/media/034rg-rue-du-four_m.jpg