We are called to live like Jesus: forgiving others, comforting those in need, lifting up the poor and powerless, and living in peace and love. Throughout her life, Sister Antonina Kratochwil fully embraced these ideals, becoming a symbol of hope for those whose lives she touched. Despite her struggles, she remained true to her faith and inspired others to follow in her footsteps.
Maria Antonina Kratochwil was born to Jan and Joanna (Kolarzyk) Kratochwil on August 21, 1881, in Witkowice, Poland, currently Ostrawa in the Czech Republic. She was named Maria Anna. Maria’s father died when she was young, leaving her mother with very few resources to care for Maria and her three siblings. As a result, Maria was accepted into an orphanage operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame where she received her education. Even as a child, Maria possessed a steady serenity and joyful disposition, and was considered the “guardian angel” of the other children in the orphanage because of her caring nature and sense of responsibility. After elementary school, Maria helped in the kindergarten operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Bielsko, Poland. It was through this experience that she was introduced to the work of the sisters. She admired the sisters so much that she asked to be received into the candidature on May 16, 1901.
Maria was sent to the Silesian Province motherhouse in Wroclaw, Poland, and then in 1902, to Bilá Voda, Poland, now in the Czech Republic, to study at the teachers’ seminary of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. In 1906, she received her teaching certification. Still a candidate, Maria was sent to Karvina, Poland, now in the Czech Republic, to teach in an elementary school. Because of her teaching methods and her cheerful and serene disposition, she won the love, respect and admiration of her students, their parents, and other teachers and school administrators.
Maria left Karvina in 1909 to return to the Silesian Province motherhouse in Wroclaw to begin her novitiate. Because of a shortage of teachers, the young novice had to interrupt her religious formation and return to Karvina to teach, allowing her to make her religious profession early, on September 27, 1910. Now as Sister Antonina, she was sent again to Karvina where she was a part-time teacher in two elementary schools for seven years.
In 1917, she was missioned as an elementary school teacher to the convent school in the city of Lwów, located in southeastern Poland. As before, Sister Antonina won the favor of students and their parents because of her enthusiasm, her intelligence and her ability to adapt to new situations. She remained in Lwów until 1925.
In that year, Sister Antonina was appointed local leader of a newly found mission in the town of Tłumacz, Poland, now located in the Ukraine, where she was responsible for candidates, and served as an elementary and boarding school administrator. In addition to her classroom and administrative work, Sister Antonina involved students in national tours, exhibitions, contests and festive celebrations. Because of Sister Antonina’s hard work, dedication, creativity and organization, the new mission flourished. Eventually, 100 teenage girls attended the boarding school. Father Dr. Mikolaj Witkowski, catechist and director of the Women’s Seminary for Teachers in Tłumacz, observed, “The soul of the institution at that time was Sister Maria Antonina Kratochwil, a highly qualified teacher, perfectly conversant with the plan and methods of school instruction and education of new women teachers.”
In 1932, Sister Antonina was called to the city of Lwów, appointed directress of the elementary school at the motherhouse and placed in charge of the candidature. She continued to display an undisturbed serenity of spirit, joy and peace, regardless if she was teaching young children or guiding candidates. She was easily able to strike a balance between compassion and firmness. Sister Antonina educated candidates, not only through studied and devout spiritual conferences but also through her own attitude and example of virtues that are expected of a woman religious: authentic goodness, love of prayer and an attitude of readiness to serve. She tried to instill in candidates love for the congregation and wished they might experience friendliness and love in the community. Her wish was that the sister community might be able to substitute as their family home. She used to say, “If people knew how happy one can be in religious life! I do not understand the saying that religious life is a sacrifice. What a sacrifice – that brings so much happiness and satisfaction.”
Although she loved all children equally, the poor and forsaken were always dearest to her heart. To those children she gave the most attention. With the help of others, she organized collections for poor children, providing clothes, shoes and supplies for school. She would often distribute the gifts discreetly, usually on such occasions as St. Nicholas Day or Christmas.
On September 1, 1939, World War II began and Poland was invaded by the Soviet Union. Sacrifice soon became a way of life. Shortly after the initial invasion, the Soviets occupied Lwów, seized the motherhouse and school, and dismissed the sisters who were living and serving there, forbidding them from wearing their habits. Sister Antonina painfully experienced the loss of contact with her beloved school children. She fully realized the tenuousness of life and permanence of commitment.
Toward the end of 1939, Sister Antonina was nominated local leader of a community of seven in Mikuliczyn, Poland. The Mikuliczyn mission, a beautiful house in the mountains, had served as a vacation center for students and sisters. On December 24, 1939, the Soviet authorities occupied the house and took everything. Only one room was left to the sisters. In that room, they lived with no furniture other than beds. The house became a refugee center for Jewish students from Lwów. In the midst of the hard conditions, Sister Antonina tried to create a humane atmosphere among the inhumane circumstances and inspire with Christian hope. Her presence and comforting words were spiritual strength for the downtrodden sisters.
In March 1940, the sisters were expelled from the Mikuliczyn house. They were received by some Ukrainian Sisters of the Greek Catholic rite and given three rooms. To make ends meet, they worked on a farm and in the local hospital’s laundry room. Although they were still crowded, the sisters experienced peace in the midst of extreme poverty and hunger, thanks to the guidance, compassion and tact of Sister Antonina.
Germany invaded Poland in June 1941, and expelled the Soviet army. The sisters returned to their Mikuliczyn mission house, again crowded into one room. The remainder of the building was now designated as a Ukrainian school. In exchange for bread, the sisters cooked for the students and did laundry for the soldiers. They sewed, picked berries and did whatever they could to stay alive. Even though they were weak and physically ill, the sisters focused on the needs of others, and Sister Antonina expended all her energy and means to encourage others to choose life, in the midst of death. Despite poverty, she managed to provide a celebration in province tradition for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on January 1, 1942, which was one of the last celebrations the community shared.
At the beginning of July 1942, Sister Antonina traveled to Lwów to report to the provincial leader about the life of the sisters and request material help. She happily returned to Mikuliczyn with a basket of food. However, the sisters did not use the food, because on that same day, Hitler’s Gestapo arrested them. The seven arrested sisters were led to the communal prison and were not allowed to take anything with them. Sister Antonina was separated from the other sisters and taken to the Gestapo headquarters in Tatarów for interrogation.
The next day, Sister Antonina and the other sisters were transported to the political prison in the city of Stanislawów, Poland, now in present-day western Ukraine. In the prison, the sisters were placed in a cell with 23 other women prisoners. Because of the size of the room and the number of prisoners, only eight of them could lay down on beds that had no mattresses. All other prisoners had to sleep on the floor. The sisters suffered great hunger, cold and lice. The prison food was horrible and rare.
Sister Antonina felt pity for others who suffered, not for herself. She willingly shared her limited portions of prison bread with those who, in her opinion, needed it more than she did. She prayed quietly with the women in the cell, religious and lay, in spite of it being forbidden. When a prisoner was called out of the cell to be executed, Sister Antonina comforted her, blessed her, kissed her hands and prayed with her. Her only joy was helping someone, giving advice or doing some kindness.
Since they were suspected of anti-Nazi activities, the sisters were singled out for increased harassment and persecution. Because she was the superior, Sister Antonina was especially vulnerable. During her imprisonment, she was interrogated many times. She endured a particularly brutal beating after asking the prison guard, on behalf of a 17-year-old Jewish girl, if the girl’s parents and sisters were going to be taken away. After being beaten with a rough piece of wood, Sister Antonina was pushed back into the cell, dripping with blood and not able to lay on her back. Despite her suffering, she rejoiced that she was, to some degree at least, like Jesus. She never complained about her sufferings but instead, prayed more intensely for the church and the conversion of the persecutors. For the sisters and lay prisoners, she was an example of how to live like Jesus.
On September 26, 1942, Sister Antonina and the other sisters were released from prison. The extreme conditions, painful experiences, injuries and contracting typhus contributed to Sister Antonina’s inability to walk. The other sisters helped her to leave the prison building. They found shelter with the Sisters of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary Immaculate from Dębica, Poland, who had a convent in Stanislawów. As they left the prison, the sisters received a command to leave Stanislawów immediately the next day and report to authorities in Tatarów. Sister Antonina had to be left behind because she was too ill to travel and her health was becoming increasingly worse. Sister Antonina eventually succumbed to injuries and illness and died on October 2, 1942.
Pope Paul II beatified Sister Maria Antonina Kratochwil, along with 107 Polish martyrs, in Warsaw, Poland, on June 13, 1999. She has become a symbol of faithfulness, peace and forgiveness for many in the Polish community and to sisters who knew her or have been inspired by her. She was truly an example of how to live as Jesus did. Because of her strength, compassion and kindness, Sister Antonina is the patron of Shalom, which is the School Sisters of Notre Dame's International Network of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. Through Shalom, and in the example of Sister Antonina, sisters are called to risk all in faith for a more just and fully human world.
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Celebrate the lives of Sister Antonina and other Polish sisters at our Signature Event: A Polish Celebration! The event will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Notre Dame of Elm Grove, in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. Registration includes traditional American and Polish-inspired foods, desserts, beer, wine and entertainment! Be sure to bring your dancing shoes! Enjoy live music from Val Sigal, Polish polkas, a silent auction and reconnecting with sisters! Seats are limited, so register today.
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