Our Lady of the Angels Academy - Angelican Yearbook (Enfield, CT)

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PRAYER O Lord, who has chosen Thy servant Mary Angela to practice the hidden life and by her example and influence Thou hast drawn many souls to Thy service, grant us the grace to do Thy Holy Will so that we may gain eternal happiness. We beseech Thee, o Lord, that Thy Holy Church soon rank Thy humble servant among the Blessed, if it is pleasing to Thee. Grant us, o Lord, the favor . . . through the merits of jesus Christ, our Savior, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen. UVilb ecclesiastical approvalj Q A W 5 H QNX 4? h ,f 1 'ff , I 5 - - ...uni 1 ,, - Q91 N Q 2- Q 'S :' Y- ., lf :fg...gu- y HS x bw.-' A-...I Q! V .3 5 X Sit '79 ,- X 5 5, l N1 H I Q9 X I , -'xx W QM 0 '5' U'

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MOTHER MARY ANGELA TRUSZKOWSKA Q1825-18991 Ardent Devotee of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sophie Camilla Truszkowska, Foundress of the Felician Sisters, was born in Kalisz, Poland, May 16, 1825. In an atmosphere radiating the happy, deeply re- ligious home, little Sophie displayed those eminent qualities of soul which would characterize her through life. From childhood her heart was aflame with charity for the suffering and unfortunate poor. Chosen by God to do great things, Sophie was called to suffer much. At an age when a child's mind dreams of gaiety, serious thought already marked her brow. In youth Sophie surged but one noble desire, namely, to enter the Order of the Visitation Nuns. God, however, had different plans for her. Her father's illness frustrated her desires. Shielded with undaunted trust, she journeyed with her father to Germany. It was there, in the magnificent Cathedral at Cologne, that God revealed to her that He was not calling her to the Visitation Order. Her soul attuned to that of St. Francis, Sophie Truszkowska, in religion known as Mother Mary Angela, on November 21, 1855, founded a new religious com- munity, the Felician Sisters. Endowed with a brilliant intellect and a noble soul, she fulfilled in succession the ofiices of Superior, Mistress of Novices and Spiritual Counseller. She pursued these duties with all the ardor of a fervent, self-sacrificed soul ever striving to make St. Francis live again in her charges. The community grew rapidly in membership and in spiritual progress. In 1874, the activities of the Felician Sisters were extended to the United States, where the Community now has six provinces: Plymouth, Michigan, Buffalo, New Yorkg Chicago, Illinois, Lodi, New Jersey, Enfield, Connecticutg Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The choicest gem set in the crown of duties for the Felician Sisters is the daily exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of each Motherhouse, a priv- ilege enjoyed since 1883. The year 1883 also marks the date Mother Angela con- secrated herself and the whole community to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. After forty-four years of unselfish devotion to her Community, she faced death in absolute peace in the midst of her spiritual daughters on October 10, 1899. Mother Mary Angela is not dead. Her spirit still lives in the devoted Com- munity that she founded. She lives in the thousands of hearts of her spiritual daughters and in their works: in orphanages, nurseries, hospitals, clinics, homes for working girls, homes for the aged, convalescent homes, and educational institu- tions on the elementary, secondary, and college level. :f ff 'I . 'IKE This picture was a loyal companion to Mother Angela. Her love of the Blessed Virgin was so great that she titled Mary, the Foundress of the Felician Sisters. In the hand of this Madonna was found an Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary composed by her ardent devotee. The Church enriched this prayer by granting an indulgence of 200 days for each recital.

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M ' fi I Q00 REVEREND MOTHER MARY CATHERINE Mother Provincial VERY REVEREND MOTHER MARY SIMPLICITA Mother General fddf ' CQMWZ 12, 5.