By CAROLE BRESLIN
In the year 1845 in the country of Poland, two baby boys were born who would become world famous far beyond their lifetimes. One was Henryk Sienkiewicz, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. He is one of the authors recommended in the Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, for his novel Quo Vadis.
The other man, an artist and servant of the poor, Albert Adam Chmielowski, became a Third Order Franciscan, who was later canonized by his fellow countryman Pope St. John Paul II. Both Henryk and Adam died in 1916.
Although Adam was born and died in Krakow, he traveled all over Poland and Europe. He was born to a noble family in Igolomia near Krakow, about 20 kilometers southwest of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. As a child he lived in Warsaw, becoming well-known for his compassion for the poor as he shared with them what he had.
A little while later, he went 1,600 kilometers northeast to St. Petersburg, where he entered the cadets. However, his mother, worried about the influence of a Russian education, brought him back to Warsaw to complete his education. Soon his parents died and his Aunt Petronela then cared for the young man.
In 1863 the Polish people rebelled against the oppression of the Russian Tsar. As an 18-year-old student at the Institute of Agriculture in Pulawy — about 250 kilometers northeast of Krakow — Adam joined the uprising. On September 30, 1863, he received a deep wound in the battle, was arrested, and, while he was in prison, his left leg was amputated without anesthesia.
Even in this wretched environment, he demonstrated his Christian charity by tending to those around him. Finally, with the aid of some relatives, Adam escaped from prison, but was forced to leave his homeland. He went to Paris where he studied art and painting and then moved to Ghent, Belgium, where he attended the Technical University. After that, he went to Munich and studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1874 at the age of 29, Adam returned to his homestead. He enjoyed painting and asked himself in all honesty, “By serving the art, can one also serve God?” His subjects were mostly secular at the time, but soon his fame spread as his artwork reflected his Catholic faith and his experience of the merciful love of Christ.
Spiritually, he grew quickly, totally dedicated to God. At Stara Wies, about 60 kilometers west of Krakow, he entered the Jesuits in 1880 as a lay brother, but left in six months after he suffered a deep depression and nervous breakdown. Once he overcame the crisis, he moved to Podolia in a part of Poland under Russian domination. He lived with relatives and met laymen in the surrounding parishes who belonged to the Third Order of St. Francis.
Adam then put to use his artistic talents by restoring the paintings in the churches. In addition, he worked to spread the tertiary spirit of the Franciscans among the rural people. Once again he had to move, this time going back to Krakow where he stayed with the Capuchin Fathers as he continued his work as an artist. He also worked with the poor, distributing to them the earnings from his work.
Upon learning of the desperate conditions of some poor people living in public dormitories, he focused his energies on assisting them. Adam renounced his career as an artist and his status as a noble by moving to their dwelling. He found in them a special dignity, the Face of Christ.
After seven years, on August 25, 1887, Adam took the name Brother Albert, donning the gray robe of the Third Order Franciscans. In 1888 with the permission of Albin Cardinal Dunajewski, he made his vows as a Third Order Franciscan.
Soon he founded the Congregation of the Friars of the Third Order of St. Francis, the Servants of the Poor. The men of this order oversaw the boys’ dormitory. In 1891 he founded the women’s order, giving Servant of God Sr. Bernardyna Jabkonska the responsibility of caring for the girls’ dormitory.
Together with Brother Albert the men and women dedicated themselves to the service of the dregs of society — the poor and the homeless vagabonds. They found them shelters and moral assistance, offered them voluntary work and crafts, as well as assisting them in finding ways to support themselves.
For the next few years, Brother Albert, despite missing a leg, traveled all over Poland, founding new homes for the needy. He visited the religious houses to encourage them. He started many kindergartens, established homes for the elderly and incurable as well as kitchens for the hungry.
When the Great War, or World War I, broke out in July 1914, he sent the sisters to work in the military hospitals and infirmaries, urging his disciples to “be good like bread . . . that everyone can take to satisfy their hunger.” He particularly urged them to practice the utmost evangelical spirit of poverty as St. Francis of Assisi did.
All of the work done by these orders was entrusted to divine Providence, supported by the graces from their prayer life, the Eucharist and a love for the Mystery of the Cross. Brother Albert began to fail at the beginning of 1916, dying of stomach cancer on Christmas Day 1916. His final advice he gave as he pointed to the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa: “This Madonna is your foundress, remember this. Make your observation of poverty your priority.”
Famous for his service to the poor, Brother Albert is frequently referred to as the 20th-century Polish St. Francis.
His artwork can be found in several museums throughout Poland. Particularly renowned are Ecce Homo, Our Lady With the Child, Abandoned Rectory, and Garden of Love. Over his lifetime he painted more than 60 oils, 22 watercolors, and 15 drawings.
The Albertine Brothers had more than 100 members before World War II when many were imprisoned by the Nazis and died in their concentration camps. Despite the persecution of the Russians after the end of the war, they survived with houses in six cities in Poland and one in Ukraine.
The Albertine Sisters now have 69 foundations: 53 in Poland, 16 in England, Argentina, Bolivia, Siberian Russia, Slovakia, United States, Ukraine, Vatican City, and Italy.
His feast day is celebrated on June 17.
Dear St. Albert, as a lay person, you served the neglected and marginalized despite your challenges. Like Christ on His way to Calvary, you gave comfort to the sorrowful. Teach us how to bring joy to others even when we are suffering. Let us not wallow in self-pity, but seek to serve those most in need. Amen.
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(Carole Breslin home-schooled her four daughters and served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for eight years. For over ten years, she was national coordinator for the Marian Catechists, founded by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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