The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice...was founded on November 21, 1855, in Russian held Warsaw, Poland, as a branch of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis.
The foundress, Sophia Camille Truszkowska, moved by the plight of Warsaw's destitute, established a small settlement for homeless children and abandoned old folk. This twenty-nine year old woman of wealth and culture...was destined to rally a numerous family under the banner of the Poverello of Assisi.
With the financial aid of her father, a wealthy and influential official of the city, Sophia was able to expand her settlement in order to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of destitute that flocked to her assistance. The local St. Vincent de Paul Society began to support her project and young women volunteered their services as angels of mercy.
It was in 1855, about the time that Sophia's...institute was gaining recognition, that she first conceived a desire to found a religious community which would perpetuate the works of charity that she and her band of devoted women performed in the Warsaw slums.
Two years later, with the approval of ecclesiastical authorities, Sophia and her companions donned the religious garb and enrolled...the community under the protection of St. Francis of Assisi. The investiture...took place on Good Friday, April 10, 1857. Sophia received the name of Mother Mary Angela and became the first superior general. A daily pilgrimage of the sisters to the nearby shrine of St. Felix of Cantalice led the sisterhood to become known as the Congregations of the Sisters of St. Felix (Felician Sisters).
Taken from FELICIAN SISTERS IN THE WEST by Sister Mary Theophane Kalinowski, CSSF, pp. 3-4
Our Lady of Czestochowa, beloved Foundress of the Congregation, according to Blessed Mary Angela
Felician Sisters of the Southwest
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