Josephine Dudzik
Founder of the Franciscan Sisters in Chicago

Michael Bordieri
Carbondale Community High School, Carbondale

Even as a young girl, Josephine Dudzik noticed the hardships in Poland, where poverty, political oppression, and religious persecution had been common. In 1881 her parents, John and Agnes Dudzik, decided along with thousands of other Poles to immigrate to the United States. When they arrived in Chicago they faced a city in transition. The city was still rebuilding after the fire of 1871 and the population was growing at a rapid rate. On the poor Northwest Side the Dudzik family settled in an area later termed the "Polish Corridor." It was in this impoverished neighborhood that Josephine grew up. She had a strong belief in God and tried to serve within the community. Her pastor, Father Vincent Barzynski, who led the St. Stanislaus Kostka parish, helped her start her life of social service. Her social programs supported the Polish community in Chicago and its effects are still seen today.

Josephine worked as a seamstress to support her aging parents and became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. In this religious order she was able to support neighborhood charities and build a stronger relationship with God. Although she wanted to strengthen her role in the church, she was forced to stay at home to support her parents. She was happy with caring for her parents but she wanted to do more. On October 1, 1893, Josephine shared with the members of her church Sodality her desire to help the aging in the Polish Corridor. After the approval of Father Barzynski, she formed the Franciscan Sisters on December 8, 1894.

Dudzik—now known as Sister Mary Theresa-and five other nuns moved in with Dudzik's widowed mother. Before long, more space was needed for the sisters to work, and in 1898 they moved into the St. Joseph's Home. It was difficult for them to support the home, but thanks to an anonymous donation of one thousand dollars, they were able to con-

Dudzik worked to improve, the lives of her fellow Poles, but they also found strength in numbers. The Roman Catholic Polish Union headquarters in Chicago provided assistance to Chicago's Polish community.

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tinue and expand. The younger generation of Poles in Chicago were experiencing economic hardship. Many decided to leave the city and move into the fertile farmland, leaving their aging parents behind. To solve this problem Sister Theresa continued to expand her efforts. Soon St. Joseph's Home for the Aged and Crippled housed fifteen residents and eight nuns who cared for them. Happy with the sisters, the Church asked them to care for Polish orphans. These orphans were again the result of young couples leaving the city and trying to find a better life. Mary Theresa readily accepted the task, and the St. Vincent Orphan Asylum was built next to St. Joseph's Home. The orphanage originally was directed by the Resurrection Fathers of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, but on Christmas Day in 1899 the Franciscan sisters took control. The sisters cared for more than five hundred Polish orphans in the home while continuing to expand their social program.

They opened the Saints Peter & Paul School in Spring Valley, Illinois, in early 1901 where they helped poor Polish immigrants. Soon they had expanded and had opened schools in Cleveland, Ohio, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and St. Louis, Missouri. In 1901 the sisters took their religious vows according to the Rules of St. Francis of Assisi as they continued to expand their reach on the Polish community. Mary Theresa was now aging so she passed the authority of Mother General to Mother Ann. Dudzik passed away in late 1918 in her home, but her programs did not. They supported Polish immigrants for many years after her death.

The Franciscan Order of Nuns still exists today, continuing to vow service to God through social programs. Dudzik grew up in a time of poverty and hardships. She felt the need to make a change, and through her work with the Catholic church she was able to change the lives of hundreds of Poles.— [From Sister M. Alvernia, "The Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Knuegunda," Polish American Studies (1951); Anne Knawa, "Jane Addams and Josephine Dudzik: Social Service Pioneers," Polish American Studies (1978); Rev. M. J. Madaj, "The Polish Community-A Ghetto," Polish American Studies (1968); Henry Malk, Theresa of Chicago; Thomas Monzell, "The Catholic Church and the Americanization of the Polish Immigrant," Polish American Studies (1969).]

14 ILLINOIS HISTORY / DECEMBER 1999