Julia Ledóchowska – her activities for Regaining Independence (1915-1920) and Rebuilding the Polish State

• Main Author: Sylwia Zydek
• Format: Article
• Language: Polish
• Published: Instytut Wydawniczy Księży Misjonarzy Redakcja "Nasza Przeszłość" 2021-06-01
• Series: Nasza Przeszłość
• Subjects: independence; julia ledóchowska; urszula ledóchowska; education; care
• Online Access: https://ojs.academicon.pl/np/article/view/3590

The figure of St. Ursula Ledóchowska is recognized mainly by the Congregation she founded, the Ursuline Sisters of the Suffering Heart of Jesus – Grey. Her activity in the field of independence is rather not widely known. Therefore, it is worth recalling the figure of this charismatic and hard-working nun. The 100th anniversary of regaining independence, celebrated not so long ago, also encourages us to do so. This article is an attempt to present Countess Julia Ledóchowska, who in the years 1915-1920, while staying in Scandinavia, worked for the Main Committee for Aid to War Victims in Poland established in Vevey, Switzerland, by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Ignacy Paderewski and Antoni Osuchowski. She gave lectures and collected funds to support her suffering compatriots. After returning to her free homeland in 1920 she settled down with her sisters and Polish orphans from Denmark in Pniewy near Poznań. She began another extremely important period of her life, working just as hard, although in a completely different way, for the material and spiritual reconstruction of the country. She founded schools and day-care centers, and recruited young girls for voluntary work for the needy. Her work was part of a wide range of activities aimed at rebuilding the Polish state.