Bronislava of Poland

Blessed Bronislava (Polish: Bronisława; c. 1204[1]–1259) was a Polish nun of the Premonstratensian Order. She is beatified in the Roman Catholic Church.

Stained glass blessed Bronislava in cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław
Blessed Bronislava
Błogosławiona Bronisława by Wojciech Eljasz-Radzikowski, 1849
Bornc. 1204
Kamień, Włodawa County
Died29 August 1259
Zwierzyniec, Kraków
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Beatified23 August 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI
Feast1 September

Early life

Bronislava was born at Kamień, Włodawa County, in eastern Poland as Bronislawa Odrowaz in about 1200,[2] although some sources give a birth date of 1203[3] or 1204.[1] She was the daughter of Count Stanislaus and Countess Anna of Prandata-Odrowaz and a cousin of Saint Hyacinth of Poland.[3]

Religious vocation

At the age of sixteen, she was introduced by Hyacinth to a religious community of the Norbertine order at Zwierzyniec, Kraków. She subsequently worked with the sick and poor at a number of monasteries, living in a most austere way. She is believed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary at the moment of the death of Hyacinth in 1257.[4] Bronislava died of natural causes on 29 August 1259 at Zwierzyniec.[2]

Beatification and remembrance

Her cult began soon after her death,[5] and in 1707 she was designated a patron of Poland, and of orphans. She was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on 23 August 1839,[2] after being attributed for protecting Zwierzyniec from cholera in 1835. Her feast day is celebrated on 1 September.[6]

She is commemorated by the Blessed Bronisława Chapel in Kraków. A minor planet discovered in 1933 was named "Bronislawa" in her honour.[7] There is a street named for her in the Ligota-Panewniki region of Katowice.[8]

See also

References
  1. Cholewczuk, Piotr. "Błogosławiona Bronisława". Siostry Norbertanki.
  2. "Blessed Bronislava of Poland". Saints.SQPN.com. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  3. Petit, François (2011), Spirituality of the Premonstratensians: The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, Cistercian Publications ISBN 978-0-87907-242-1 (p. 136)
  4. Petit, pp. 137 - 140
  5. Fos, Henryk; Sowa, Franciszek (2007). Księga imion i świętych. Part VI. Kraków.
  6. Gryczyński, Michał. "Św. Bronisława". Katolicki Przewodnik.
  7. Schmadel, Lutz (1992), Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Volume 1, Springer-Verlag ISBN 3-540-00238-3 (p. 108)
  8. Katowice – Plan miasta. Demart SA. 2009–2010.


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