Cecilia Blomqvist (8 September 1845, Björneborg - 7 December 1910, Helsinki), known as ''Sister Cecilia'', was a
Finnish deaconess
The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...
. In 1877, she became the first deaconess in Finland and a pioneer in her profession. She is mentioned along with
Aurora Karamzin and
Mathilda Wrede as one of the most prominent
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
s in her contemporary Finland.
Life
Cecilia Blomqvist was the daughter of a rich sea captain in
Pori
Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...
. Her mother and the first of her two stepmothers died early, and while still young, she was given the responsibility of her younger sister. In the 1860s, she became involved in local charitable activity. During the
Famine of 1866-68, she nursed the sick and starving and found homes for orphans. She nursed her father until his death from cancer in 1873.
In 1873-77, Blomqvist studied at the Deaconess institute of
Amanda Cajander in Helsinki, becoming the first Finnish deaconess educated in Finland in 1877. In 1879, she served as deaconess of
Raumo, becoming the first deaconess employed by the Finnish church. In 1883, she was appointed to found the charitable ''Helsinki Stadsmission'' for the poor. In 1889, she was the first Finnish woman to become a civil servant, which caused a law reform allowing women to become civil servants.
See also
*
Anna Broms
References
Suomen kansallisbiografia (National Biography of Finland)
1845 births
1910 deaths
19th-century Finnish people
Finnish Christian religious leaders
Lutheran deaconesses
19th-century Finnish women
Finnish Lutherans
19th-century Finnish Lutheran clergy
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