Mother Theresa Dudzik

Mother Theresa Dudzik (1860 - 1918)

In the late 19^th century and into the early 20^th, care for the poor, aged and handicapped could still be like something from the darkest pages of Charles Dickens. When they became too old or sick to care for themselves, the poor were often left to charity wards, unwed mothers were turned out and unwanted babies left on church steps and handicapped or special needs children and adults were locked or given away by families too poor or ashamed to care for them.

Mother Theresa Dudzik, a young, devout girl from Poland began to change all that in Chicago with a congregation of women she founded to care for the poor, the aged and the handicapped. Josephine Dudzik was born in Plociz, Poland in 1860 and emigrated to Chicago with her family in 1881. From an early age she felt a strong desire to follow Christ, both in her heart and in serving the poor, elderly and handicapped she saw around in the streets of Chicago’s north side.

At the request of her spiritual advisor, Father Vincent Barzynski, Josephine founded a congregation of young women to live like nuns in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Living a spirit of community, prayer and poverty, their days were spent either in the chapel or either in the streets or in the homes they founded to care for the most vulnerable, especially the aged, the poor and the young. This congregation of joyful women, loving Christ and serving others, became the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago and Josephine took the name of Theresa.

At the time of Mother Theresa’s death, the order had grown to over one hundred young women and they ran the large St. Joseph Home for the Aged & Crippled and St. Vincent’s Orphanage for children. Her vision continues to this day with the Sisters running hospitals, schools, nursing homes and outreach facilities all for the love of Jesus.