Mary Theresa Dudzik

Mary Theresa Dudzik (August 30, 1860 – September 20, 1918) was a Catholic nun who founded the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago in 1894.[1]

Mary Theresa Dudzik

Biography

Mary Theresa Dudzik was born as Josephine Dudzik on August 30, 1860 in Płocicz, Poland.[2] In 1881 her family emigrated to Chicago, Illinois,[3] where she later became a member of Third Order Secular of St. Francis.

In Chicago she encountered the poor, elderly and abandoned.[4] She allowed the poor women to stay at her home. With the support of her colleagues, she decided to purchase or rent a home to provide shelter for the poor and elderly.[5][6] She, along with her friends, generated the required funds for the charitable activities through “cleaning, cooking, and sewing in rectories and homes”.[2]

In 1894 she founded the "Franciscan Sisters of the Blessed Kunegunda", now known as the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago, to care the needy particularly elderly.[4]

Henry Malak wrote several books and articles about her.[7]

She died in Chicago on September 20, 1918 following “cancer.”[8]

References
  1. Sokol, Stanley S. (1992). The Polish Biographical Dictionary: Profiles of Nearly 900 Poles who Have Made Lasting Contributions to World Civilization. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-865-16245-7. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. Litoff, Judy Barrett (1994). European Immigrant Women in the United States: A Biographical Dictionary. Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-824-05306-2. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. Pacyga, Dominic A. (5 November 2021). American Warsaw: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Polish Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-226-81534-3. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. Coffey, Kathy (16 February 2012). Companion to the Calendar, Second Edition: A Guide to the Saints, Seasons, and Holidays of the Year. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-568-54260-7. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. Granacki, Victoria (2004). Chicago's Polish Downtown. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-738-53286-8. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  6. Pacyga 2021, p. 65.
  7. Sokol 1992, p. 244.
  8. Litoff 1994, p. 84.
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