Sr. Mary Canuta (Josepha Chrobot)

She was born May 22, 1896 in Raczyna, in the Wieluń district, under Russian rule. She did not attend school but helped her parents with household and farm work. Her parents wanted her to marry young Stanisław. Unexpectedly, after a dream of her Groom awaiting her in Grodno with a gift of a red dress, she chose the path of her calling to be a Sister. She was accepted in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in April of 1922. After postulancy in Częstochowa she left to spend her novitiate in Grodno, where in July of 1925 she took her first vows. Next, she stayed in Stryj and Lviv working in the kitchen, was a portress, and a shoemaker. She took her perpetual vows in July, 1931 in Grodno after which she left for Nowogrodek. While there Sister Canuta worked in the kitchen, where, even though she was of frail health, she was distinguished for her unusually strong work ethic. She never complained and, when things became difficult, she left for a moment to the chapel.