Mary Theresa Ledóchowska
| Bl. Mary Theresa Ledóchowska, S.S.P.C. | |
|---|---|
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| Missionary, religious, foundress | |
| Born | 29 April 1863 Loosdorf, Lower Austria, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 6 July 1922 Rome, Kingdom of Italy |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church (Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver) |
| Beatified | 19 October 1975, Vatican City, by Pope Paul VI |
| Major shrine | Motherhouse of the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver |
| Feast | 6 July |
Mary Theresa Ledóchowska, S.S.P.C. (Polish: Maria Teresa Ledóchowska) (29 April 1863 – 6 July 1922), was a Polish Roman Catholic Religious Sister and missionary, who founded the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver, dedicated to service in Africa. She has been beatified by the Catholic Church.
Mary Theresa was the eldest of seven children. Members of the Polish nobility, she and her siblings - including Wlodimir Ledóchowski, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, St. Ursula Ledóchowska and Ignacy Kazimierz Ledóchowski - were born in Loosdorf on the Lower Austrian estate of their parents, Count Antoni Halka-Ledóchowski and his wife, Countess Josephine Salis-Zizers.
As a young girl, Ledóchowska exhibited a great love of the arts and displayed talent as a writer. She loved society life and would dress in her finest attire to attend the balls which were part of the family's social life. She was educated by the Sisters of Loreto, though, and in her school life also displayed a devotion to the Catholic faith which was instilled in her by the Sisters and her family. This social life continued until both she and father contracted smallpox in 1885. She was nursed back to health, but her father succumbed to the disease. After his death, their uncle, Cardinal Mieczysław Halka Ledóchowski, took charge of their care.
During her convalescence, Ledóchowska had begun to reflect on the meaninglessness of her life. Her sister Julia later claimed that Mary Theresa had made a vow of virginity during that period. From 1885 to 1890, in order to help her family, which had fallen into economic difficulties after the death of the Count, through the connections of her uncle, she obtained the position of lady-in-waiting to Princess Alice of Parma, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, at the imperial palace in Salzburg. While living at court, she resumed her participation in the social functions there, again attending concerts and balls. At the same time, she maintained a strict commitment to the practice of the faith. Under the guidance of a Franciscan friar who served as spiritual director to both the princess and her, she was admitted to the Third Order of St. Francis, following its spirituality, with an emphasis on the Passion of Christ.
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