Sisters eager to celebrate beatification and centennial

Anticipation is mounting for the Sisters of the Resurrection, whose provincial home is in Castleton: Their foundress, Mother Celine Chludzinska Borzecka, will be beatified Oct. 27 in St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, Italy.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes, will preside over the Mass, which will be televised on EWTN at 10 a.m.

A group of sisters and lay people will leave Oct. 24 for an 11-day pilgrimage to Rome for the liturgy; they will also to to many places of significance for Mother Celine. They will join other pilgrims from the various countries where the 500-member order serves: Canada , Italy , England , Poland , Russia , Argentina , Australia and their newest mission: Tanzania .

Twin joys

The order's Eastern Province has a dual reason for celebration: the beatification and the 100th anniversary of service in the Albany Diocese.

In 1907, six sisters were sent from the first American mission in Chicago to St. Mary's parish in Schenectady to teach more than 600 children and minister to the needs of the parish.

In 1909, Mother Celine came from Rome to Schenectady to visit the sisters. When she departed, she wrote in her journal, "I gave them hope, and bade farewell with great emotion."

She was already in her 70s and in frail health, so she and the sisters were not sure if they would ever see one another again.

Expansion

From St. Mary's, the Sisters spread out in the Albany Diocese and on to the Archdiocese of New York, and the dioceses of Bridgeport, Trenton, Ogdensburg and Fall River.

In the Albany Diocese, the sisters served at St. Casimir's in Albany , St. Adalbert's in Schenectady , Holy Trinity in Troy , St. John the Baptist in Amsterdam , Immaculate Conception in Watervliet, St. Michael's in Cohoes and St. Joseph 's in Herkimer.

They also staffed religious education centers in Castleton, Hagaman, Nassau, New Lebanon, Schodack Landing, Hudson and Stuyvesant; and sponsored health care at Mt. Loretto Nursing Home in Amsterdam and Resurrection Nursing Home in Castleton as well as at their provincialate in Castleton.

Staffing

The order continues to serve in Schenectady at St. Mary's (100 years) and St. Adalbert's (90 years), at St. Brigid's Regional Catholic School in Watervliet, and in St. Henry's parish in Averill Park.

They are co-sponsors of the healthcare apostolate at Mount Loretto Nursing Home in Amsterdam and Resurrection Nursing Home in Castleton.

The Sisters also have lay associates, called Apostles of the Resurrection, with groups in Castleton and Schenectady as well as downstate New York and New Jersey .

Early life

The order's foundress, Celine Rosalie Leonarda Chludzinska, was born in 1833 in what is now Belarus . As a teenager, she felt called to be a religious, but her parents arranged a marriage to Joseph Borzecki. They had four children.

After 20 years of marriage, Joseph died. Celine was 40; her girls were 16 and 11. She moved them to Rome to continue their education and to search for her mission in life.

There, she met a founder of the Resurrection Fathers, Peter Semenenko, who became her confessor and spiritual guide.

Vocation call

Celine became more and more convinced that God was calling her to found the Sisters of the Resurrection. One of her daughters, Hedwig, joined her in this endeavor.

They both pronounced their final vows in 1891, and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ was born. It soon spread to the United States .

Mother Celine was priming her daughter to take over as superior general when Mother Hedwig died at 43. Mother Celine continued to lead the community. She died in 1913.

Mother Celine's cause for beatification began in 1944. The miracle that qualified her for beatification was the cure of a life-threatening head trauma to her great-great-great-grandson.

(The Sisters of the Resurrection will celebrate the beatification and 100 years in the Albany Diocese on Dec. 1 at an 11 a.m. Mass at St. Mary's Church, Schenectady . Bishop Howard J. Hubbard will be the presider. A reception will follow. If you plan to attend, let the sisters by Nov. 3. Email [email protected], phone 732-4142 or write Sisters of the Resurrection, c/o Beatification, 35 Boltwood Ave. , Castleton , NY 12033 .)

(10/25/07)