Cecylia Plater-Zyberk, Plater coat of arms, (born 8 May 1853 in

Pass, Poland Pass is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Błonie, within Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Błonie, west of Ożarów Mazowiecki, and west of Warsaw Warsaw, o ...

- died 6 January 1920 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) was a social activist, educationalist, publicist and

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

. She founded several schools and charitable societies.

Life

Cecylia Plater-Zyberk was the daughter and eighth child of Count Kazimierz Plater-Zyberk and Ludwika, née Borewicz. On her father's side she was descended from two illustrious German families: the Plater von Broëls from

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

and the Syberg zu Wischling clan originally from the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

, who arrived in

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

with the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. After home-schooling on the family estate, "Schlossberg" in Courland, she attended the Sacred Heart school in Posen. During 1879-1880 she attended a craft school in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. On her return, she settled in Warsaw where she qualified as a master tailor.Grela Joanna. (2014) "Cecylia Plater Zyberkówna," ''Przegląd Piaseczyński'' (local journal) https://www.przegladpiaseczynski.pl/historia/cecylia-plater-zyberkowna/ In 1880 she entered the convent of the ''Messengers of Mother Mary'' in Warsaw - a

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

that did not use the

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

. For a number of years she was the

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

of the Warsaw house. In 1883 Plater-Zyberk founded a craft school for girls followed in 1886 by a girls' secondary school. In 1917 it achieved full recognition by the Education Authority. It was revived in 1993 as a private secondary girls school named after Cecylia Plater-Zyberk. Her second foundation was in Chyliczki in 1891, this time an agricultural school, also intended for girls. It became the Chyliczki agricultural High school. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and Poland's return to full independence, the school is now called the "Cecylia Plater-Zyberk Centre for Continuing Rural Education". In addition she put on courses on education and book-keeping.

Social activism

With Kazimiera Proczek she founded the Polish Catholic Women's Association in 1904, of which she was president for two years. She was also a co-founder of the ''Society of Women Landowners''. She set up with bishop Jerzy Matulewicz, the ''Friends of Young People'' aimed at working with young men. Her other charitable endeavours were centred on aiding children and youth. Cecylia Plater-Zyberk died in 1920 and was buried in the family vault in

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

Publications

She was the author of 35 books and pamphlets as well as many articles. She usually wrote under one of several pseudonyms - ''CPZ'', ''Father Boguslaw'', ''Heather'' or ''Ciccada''. Her subject matter ranged between

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and social and religious themes, including the place of women in society. She is regarded as a precursor of

Liberal Catholicism Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church influenced by classical liberalism and promoting the separation of church and state, freedom of religion in the civic arena, expanded suffrage, and broad-based education. ...

Works in Polish

* The idea and aims of relationships - ''Istota i cele związków'' * Living as a Catholic - ''Życie katolickie'' * About faith and religiosity - ''O pobożności prawdziwej i fałszywej'' 1899 * A few thoughts about child-rearing - ''Kilka mysli o wychowaniu'' 1903 * Woman as Hearth: From chats with the Chyliczki pupils: by a reborn woman: rebirth - ''Kobieta - ogniskiem : z pogadanek do uczennic Chyliczkowskich : przez odrodzoną kobietę - odrodzenie'' 1909 * What is our main national vice? -''Jaka jest nasza wada narodowa główna?'' * On the need to reform Girls' High schools - ''O potrzebie reformy szkoły średniej dla dziewcząt'' 1917 * On the point of marriage - ''Na progu małżeństwa''

References

External links

* http://poslanniczki.blogspot.com/2012/11/cecylia-plater-zyberk-jej-idea-kobiety.html (Pol.) Article about the female spirituality of Plater-Zyberk {{DEFAULTSORT:Plater-Zyberk, Cecylia 1853 births 1920 deaths Cecylia Nobility from Warsaw Polish tailors 19th-century tailors Polish educational theorists 20th-century Polish women writers Polish Roman Catholics Polish people of German descent Nuns from Warsaw Russian nuns 19th-century Polish Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century Polish nobility