Celine Chludzińska Borzęcka (29 October 1833 – 26 October 1913) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

professed religious and the co-foundress - along with her daughter Jadwiga Borzęcka - of the Sisters of the Resurrection. Borzęcka desired the religious life but married in obedience to her parents and bore four children; two died as infants. After her husband's death, she chose to follow the spiritual path with her daughter at her side and began a life in community in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Borzęcka's beatification cause was opened under

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

on 10 April 1964 and

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

beatified her on 27 October 2007.

Life

Celine Chludzińska was born in Antowil near

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now Vitebsk Oblast,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

) on 29 October 1833 as one of the three children of the rich land-owning Ignatius and Petronella Chludzińska; she was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

as "Celine Rozalia Leonarda". In her childhood she considered a religious vocation in a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

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but out of obedience to her parents she married Józef Borzęcki (1820/1 - 1874) in 1853. During their marriage she gave birth to four children but two (Marynia and Kazimierz) died as infants. Her husband received her help in managing their estate and educated her two daughters Celine and Jadwiga (2 February 1863 - 26 September 1906) at home. In 1869 her husband suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

that left him

paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...

and confined to a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. Borzęcka sought out the best medical treatment for her husband and so all moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Józef died in 1874 not before having dictated his will to the couple's daughter Celine and after which the widow travelled with her two daughters to

. In Rome she met the priest Peter Semenenko who became her

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divinity, divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters ...

. In 1882 she and her daughter Jadwiga - her daughter Celine had married at this stage - and two other women began living as a religious cluster. In 1887 she opened her first school where Giacomo della Chiesa (the future

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

) served as a chaplain. On 6 January 1891 she founded the Sisters of the Resurrection in Rome and both Borzęcka and her daughter made their

final vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

. In fall 1891 the congregation's first house was opened in

Kęty Kęty is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland with 18,955 inhabitants (2012). The town located in Silesian Foothills dates its earliest document from 1277 when Polish prince of Opole Władysław confirmed sale of the se ...

near

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

. Other houses soon followed in Poland as well as in

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and the

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. Borzęcka suffered the loss of her daughter Jadwiga in 1906 and she continued to lead the institute until 1911. Borzęcka died on 26 October 1913 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Her remains - and that of Jadwiga - were exhumed on 22 November 1937 and again on 3 April 2001. In 2008 there were 464 religious in 50 houses in places such as

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and

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. Her order received the pontifical decree of praise from

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

on 10 May 1905 while full papal approval from

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

came after her death on 17 July 1923.

Beatification

The superior of the order was received in a private papal audience on 8 January 1942 in which

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

encouraged the prospects of a possible cause for beatification of the late foundress. An informative was held from 31 October 1944 until 16 March 1949 while testimonies were gathered from both

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

formally opened her cause on 22 April 1949, granting her the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. The apostolic process later opened in 1964 and this closed on 29 December 1967. The confirmation of her

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

allowed for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

to title her as

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 11 February 1982. The process for a miracle attributed to her opened in Kraków and Cardinal Franciszek Macharski oversaw the diocesan investigation from 25 January to 10 April 2002. A medical board of seven experts approved this healing to be something that science could not explain on 9 June 2005 while six theologians also approved this same thing on 15 November 2005. The cardinal and bishop members of the C.C.S. also voted in favor of this on 20 June 2006 and

confirmed the miracle - and the beatification - on 16 December 2006. Cardinal

José Saraiva Martins José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. GCC (born 6 January 1932) is a Portuguese cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998 to 2008. Biography Born in Gagos de Jarmelo in Guarda, Portug ...

presided over the beatification on 27 October 2007 on the pope's behalf in the

Basilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

for this cause is Wiesław Śpiewak.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

Saints SQPN

Santi e Beati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borzęcka, Celine 1833 births 1913 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians Russian nuns Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Italy 20th-century venerated Christians Roman Catholics from the Russian Empire Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI Founders of Catholic religious communities Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II