Mary Theresa Dudzik (August 30, 1860 – September 20, 1918) was a Catholic nun who founded the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago in 1894.[1]
Biography
Mary Theresa Dudzik was born as Josephine Dudzik on August 30, 1860 in Płocicz, Poland.[2] In 1881 her family emigrated to Chicago, Illinois,[3] where she later became a member of Third Order Secular of St. Francis.
In Chicago she encountered the poor, elderly and abandoned.[4] She allowed the poor women to stay at her home. With the support of her colleagues, she decided to purchase or rent a home to provide shelter for the poor and elderly.[5][6]
She, along with her friends, generated the required funds for the charitable activities through “cleaning, cooking, and sewing in rectories and homes”.[2]
In 1894 she founded the "Franciscan Sisters of the Blessed Kunegunda", now known as the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago, to care the needy particularly elderly.[4]
Henry Malak wrote several books and articles about her.[7]
She died in Chicago on September 20, 1918 following “cancer.”[8]