About Our Church
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The Story
of Blessed Bronislava
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 Blessed
Bronislava, the cousin of Saint Hyacinth and Blessed Chester, was born in
Kamien in Silesia, about the year 1203. From early childhood she loved piety
and innocence and was not interested in the joys of a powerful and rich
world. She would visit the village huts, bringing aid to the needy and
medicine to the sick. When she was 16 years old, she entered the convent of
the Norbertine Sisters at Zwierzvniec, just outside Krakow, a convent built
by her great-grandfather, Jaska of Miechowo. She lived a strict life of
penance, developing a deep devotion to the passion of Christ.
The Norbertine rule was rigorous. They lived in cells in
which there were no floors or stoves so they suffered intensely from cold
and frost. They followed a vow of extreme poverty and had no contact with
the outside world. Visits of their nearest relatives were very rare and
then through a grill and in the presence of other Sisters. They lived lives
of strict silence and prayer. Free time outside spiritual exercises was
dedicated to sewing, embroidering church vestments and in the work of
housekeeping and gardening.
Bronislava surpassed all the other Sisters in holiness.
She loved the fasts, sacrifices, night vigils, and prayer. She wanted to be
the least among the Sisters and often knelt before them, begging alms in the
form of prayer for herself. Bronislava remained long hours in contemplation
on the life and passion of Christ, as well as on the virtues of the Blessed
Virgin Mary to whom she had a special devotion. During times of deep
contemplation she often experienced the grace of ecstasy. She learned to
pray the rosary from Saint Hyacinth and brought that devotion to the Sisters
of her Convent.
After 15 years of solitary, austere religions life, she
accepted the burden of becoming a Superior. She carried that burden during
times of unrest and civil wars, often in exile away from the convent. The
most painful sacrifice for her was the loss of her solitude. She had to
leave the convent with the Sisters during the first invasion of Poland by
the Tartars in 1241. She set out with cross in hand, through rocky ravines,
to caves, which since that time have been called, "Maiden Rocks." After the
Tartars were driven back the Norbertine Sisters returned to their convent,
only to find it in ruins. As they rebuilt it, they had to take care of
hungry inhabitants and many orphans. Over the centuries the people of Krakow
have remembered the goodness and compassion of Bronislava.
When a new church and convent for the Norbertine Sisters
brought all the scattered Sisters together again, Bronislava offered her
prayers and sacrifices. In 1259, a second invasion by the Tartars again
exiled the nuns and people to the "Maiden Rocks." It was during this time
that she died, on 29 August 1259.
Soon people began pilgrimages to her grave. When the
invasion was ended. Bronislava's body was brought to the convent Church and
buried in a crypt within its walls. Bronislava named among the Blessed of
the Church. the last step before Sainthood. Pope Gregory XVI designated the
30th of August as her feast day for the Diocese of Krakow. She is
considered patroness of a happy death and of the prevention of disease. Two
Parishes in the United States claim Bronislava as their patron. The other is
located in Illinois.
Prayer for
the Canonization of Blessed Bronislava:
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O God, who hast chosen Blessed Bronislava so that by her
wondrous virtues our hearts may be drawn closer to Thee, deign to glorify
Thy faithful servant as Thou didst during the past centuries by granting
requests, favors and miracles through her intercession.
Grant also, we beseech Thee, that by new miracles Thy
chosen spouse may soon be elevated to the honors of the altar for the glory
of thy Holy Name.
Amen
Directions to St. Bronislava Church:
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Please select the
area/direction you will be traveling from to review directions to St.
Bronislava Church:
Minneapolis and Eau Claire Area (Northwest)
Chippewa Falls Area (Northwest)
Merrill and Wausau Area (North)
Green Bay Area (Northeast)
Appleton (East)
LaCrosse and Sparta Area (Southwest)
Madison Area (South)
Milwaukee Area (Southeast)
Excerpts from
Because We Are Grateful, St. Bronislava Parish A Centennial
History: 1996
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