Alongside three military bases and a motor regiment, the Pallottine Sisters were this year’s recipients of the Benemerenti distinction awarded by the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army. The presentation of the awards by the Field Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz took place at the Field Cathedral in Warsaw during a concert of carols and New Year songs on 13 January. The special guest at the concert was the well-known singer Halina Frackowiak.
Our congregation received a Benemerenti distinction on the twentieth anniversary of the ministry of the Pallottine Sisters at the Field Bishop’s House. The sisters were honoured for their sacrificial work for the benefit of the Field Ordinariate, awakening Christian sensitivity among soldiers and their families, as well as activities of a patriotic and educational nature. On behalf of the Pallottine Sisters, the award was received by Sr. M. Iwona Nadziejko SAC, Provincial Superior of the Congregation. Along with her, five sisters were decorated with Milito pro Christo medals: Sr. Blanka Slawinska, Sr. Consolata Majewska, Sr. Grazyna Powierza, Sr. Jolanta Mischke and Sr. Karolina Slominska.
Sr. M. Blanka Slawinska in 2004 as the Provincial Superior responded positively to the request of the then Field Bishop of the Polish Army, Tadeusz Ploski, for Pallottine Sisters to undertake ministry in the Field Ordinariate of the Polish Army.
Sr. M. Consolata Majewska for many years carried out a self-sacrificing apostolic ministry working with children, youth, adults, the sick, the needy, married couples, and people with addictions. Her apostolate includes leading communities, retreats, meetings, organising and guiding numerous pilgrimages to Rome – especially during the pontificate of John Paul II – and to Medjugorje. Every year she organises night vigils at the sanctuaries of Our Lady at Jasna Góra and Divine Mercy in Krakow-Lagiewniki, which have a long tradition. These are usually religious and patriotic events, bearing witness to the highest values.
Sr. M. Grażyna Powierża has been a catechist for young people for many years, passing on the highest religious and patriotic values and testifying to them with her own life, courageously fighting for Christ, always influencing the environment in which she lives and works, being socially involved, with great sensitivity to people, especially the poor, the rejected, the lost, always ready to help and striving for peace.
Sr. M. Jolanta Mischke has worked for many years as a catechist for children, passing on evangelical and patriotic values to them. She systematically organises rosary prayers for the Homeland in the chapel of the Presidential Palace, prepares religious-patriotic performances, and teaches children to be apostles in their environment. She sensitises them to the needs of others, develops attitudes of sharing their time and what they have. She systematically organises bazaars with the children for the missions. She has worked with street children and in Correctional Institution.
Sr. M. Karolina Slominska is an experienced catechist. She currently catechises children and runs the Polish School in Grodek in Ukraine, where children learn, among other things, the Polish language and history. She transmits Christian values to them and, at the same time, fosters religious and patriotic attitudes in them, including gratitude for their ancestors who passed on them the faith and the Polish language. She prepares religious-patriotic celebrations with the children on various occasions, such as 3 May and 11 November, and together with them cares for the graves of the teenage defenders of Lviv called Eaglets at Lychakiv Cemetery.
In a letter accompanying the award, Bishop Lechowicz wrote: The spiritual daughters of St Vincent on all continents of the world are catechists, teachers, nurses – in a word, missionaries. Beyond the borders of our country, they function as ambassadors of Poland, introducing its traditions to their charges. The Pallottine Sisters work, among others, in Ukraine, Russia and in African countries. Even warfare does not stop them from being involved and present among the needy and those at risk of losing their lives… With the award of the Benemerenti, I express to the Sisters my sincere gratitude for the many years of sacrificial work done for the pastoral care of the military and directly for the Field Bishops. I thank you for remaining faithfully at your post and for bringing the beauty of Pallottine spirituality to the military thresholds: love, serenity, hospitality, simplicity, patience and joy of heart.
Thanking for this award, Sr. Iwona Nadziejko said: “The Field Ordinariate of the Polish Army is a part of the Church and has its apostolic tasks. And our Congregation is called to participate in a special way in the apostolic mission of the Church. That is why in 2004, when the Field Bishop of the Polish Army, the late Tadeusz Płoski, asked us to serve in the Field Ordinariate, we had no doubt that the Field Ordinariate is the place where we can realise our Pallottine charism. I hope that through our prayer, sacrifice and ministry here in the Field Ordinariate, we Pallottine Missionary Sisters faithfully serve God, the Church and the Homeland”. – she pointed out. She emphasised that the gift of the Sisters of the Congregation to the Ordinariate is their daily prayer offered in the religious chapels for the intention of the Homeland, all those who serve it and for all Polish people.
Photos: Krzysztof Stępkowski and Sr. Ludwika Jastrzębska, SAC
