150 YEARS OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS

In the footsteps of Blessed Frances Siedliska in Rome (37)

Sr. M. Beata Rudzińska, CSFN

Via Merulana (1878) – A time of great events

The year 1878 brought many events for the Church, Italy and the young Congregation of the Nazareth Sisters.

On January 9, Victor Emmanuel, the first king of the united Italy, passed away. A month later, on February 7, Pius IX died. These events, due to the ongoing conflict between the Church and the young Italian state, aroused a lot of emotions, also among the Sisters of Frances Siedliska. The first Nazareth chronicler, Sister Gabriela, devotes a lot of space to them. Let us quote here at least some excerpts:

“In the first days of January 1878, Emmanuel was going to his wife’s house, who had become dangerously ill in her villa near Florence. Humbert, his eldest son, went to the funeral of General Lamarmozi (actually Alfonso La Marmora), who had been the first to enter Rome several years earlier (September 1870), and then, having broken down the doors of the Quirinal, took possession of it for the King. Just before leaving, the King fell violently ill, and all medical measures were ineffective; upon learning of this, the Holy Father Pius IX used all means to reconcile his enemy with God – the Lord listened to his Saint, The King asks for confession (…) He received Holy Communion and the Last Rites with holy oil with contrition – he asked to apologize to the Pope on his behalf (…). The Italians, opposed to the Pope, made every effort to organize the funeral and then the service with the greatest splendor. Naturally, Catholics completely distanced themselves from this ostensible anti-pope demonstration. The Holy Father allowed Victor Emmanuel to be buried in the Pantheon (the Pantheon has been a Catholic church and place of worship since the 7th century).

One month after the death of the king, our beloved Holy Father Pius IX gave his soul to God after an illness of a few days. Our dear Mother had a special love and gratitude for Pius IX. He was the first to give her and her cause the blessing of God with such love. The funeral of this holy Pope was held quietly, without pomp, as he had wished. Countless crowds visited his body when it was displayed for several days in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica. Our entire house was also there to pay him the homage he deserved. Temporarily, the remains of Pius IX are kept in St. Peter’s Basilica (…) in due course they will be moved to the church of San Lorenzo, which is outside the city walls – such was the humble will of the deceased. (This did not happen until 1881, when the passing procession was met with ominous shouts and stones were thrown at them). After such a heavy blow, the only prayer in our little house was that the Lord Jesus would deign to look kindly on his orphaned Bride – that he would inspire the Cardinals with the spirit of unity and truth and tell them himself who to choose (…).”

The choice was made on February 20. St. Peter’s 256th successor was Leo XIII, considered the first modern pope. A brilliant observer of reality, open to dialogue with the contemporary world, author of the principles of Catholic social teaching, “the pope of the workers”, and at the same time a promoter of the internal renewal of the Church. Among other things, he was the first to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, established the Pontifical Biblical Commission to promote the study of the Bible, and in 1893, he established the Solemnity of the Holy Family, the patronal feast of the Nazareth Sisters.

On June 10th, the Nazareth community had the opportunity to attend a private audience with Leo XIII, but more about that in the next episode…

Pictures:
Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura – the resting place of Pius IX – K. Kuraszkiewicz
Victor Emmanuel’s tomb in the Pantheon – Public Domain