Vatican City, Jul 7, 2017 / 05:14 am
Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
The Pope met July 7 with the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, giving his approval for the cause to move forward, along with the causes of five persons recognized for their heroic virtue.
He also recognized the martyrdom of two persons killed in hatred of the faith, Bishop Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve of Arauca, killed near Fortul, Colombia in 1989 and diocesan priest Fr. Pietro Maria Ramírez Ramos, killed on April 10, 1948 in Armero, Colombia.
Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska was born in Warsaw on October 7, 1902 to a family known for their charitable work. She finished high school at a school run by Ursuline sisters in Krakow and after graduating in 1922 attended nursing school in Warsaw.
She became an Oblate with the Ursuline Sisters of St. Benedict.
From 1926-1929 she worked as an instructor at the University School of Nurses and Hygienists in Krakow. For 10 years she held the position of editor of the monthly "Piel?gniarka Polska" ("Nurse Poland"), also publishing her own work in the field of nursing.
During this period, she also grew closer to God, joining in the work of the Catholic Association of Polish Nurses in 1937.
Poland saw the outbreak of World War II in 1939. After the war and after the opening of a university school of maternity and nursing in Krakow, she worked as the head of the department dedicated to home nursing.
She was especially dedicated to the proper formation and preparation of her students, including offering advice and assistance while accompanying her students on visits to patients confined at home.
In 1966 she contracted cancer. Despite operations, the disease spread and eventually led to her death on April 29, 1973 in Krakow.
With approval of the miracle, a date can be set for her beatification, likely to take place in Poland.
Another cause moving forward is that of Sister Maria Elisabetta Mazza. Born in 1886 in Martinengo, Italy, she was an elementary school teacher from 1911 onward and was a leading figure in the Catholic Teachers' Association, called "Niccolò Tommaseo," which helped to revive Catholic education after the war.
She also founded a religious institution of teachers, called the Congregation of the Little Apostles of the Christian School, which focused on working for the good of society, particularly in the area of education of young people.
After the Second World War, she supported the revival of the "Niccolò Tommaseo" organization, under the new name of the "Italian Association of Catholic Teachers."
She died on Aug. 29, 1950 in Bergamo, Italy.
The other persons now declared 'Venerable' are: Archbishop Ismaele Perdomo of Bogota (1872-1950); Sister Paola of Jesus Gil Cano, foundress of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Most Pure Conception (1849-1913); Luigi Kosiba (Pietro), layman professed in the Order of Friars Minor (1855-1939); Sister Maria Crocifissa dell'Amore Divino (Maria Gargani), foundress of the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart (1892-1973).
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