Journeys Sisters of St. Casimir
Vol. XXIX No. 2 Summer 2015
Mother Maria's Vision
Alive in the 21st Century
Venerable Maria Kaupas January 6, 1880 — April 17, 1940 Foundress, Sisters of Saint Casimir
Many friends of the Sisters of St. Casimir gathered in the Motherhouse chapel on April 18, 2015, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Mother Maria’s death. In a brief reflection after communion, Mother Maria’s death and the days that followed were described, noting the thousands of people who came to pay their respects and the spontaneous reference to Mother Maria as a holy person. The impact and inspiration of her life began over a hundred years ago when Mother Maria came to the United States in 1897, and it continues to this very day. Casimira Kaupas (later, Mother Maria) had never seen religious Sisters in her lifetime until she traveled from Lithuania to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to be a housekeeper at the age of 17 for her older brother, Anthony, pastor of St. Joseph Parish. While in Scranton, Casimira’s heart was touched by the Sisters she saw and how they lived for God alone while ministering to God’s people. She also saw how the Lithuanian immigrants had a great need for education in their new country. But she was homesick and returned to Lithuania four years after arriving in the United States. At home in Lithuania, Casimira found that life was not the same for her. The pull of her heart to
become a religious Sister and minister to the Lithuanian immigrants she had left in the United States took her on a new path that would change her life forever. Through various twists and obstacles, Casimira persevered, never losing sight of the people she so desperately felt called to serve. Her dream became a reality on August 29, 1907, with the founding of the Sisters of St. Casimir in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Early the following year, with great joy and an unwavering trust in God, Sister Maria (later, Mother Maria) and her Sisters opened their first school: Holy Cross School, in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania. Thus began a way of life and a ministry that would touch the lives of thousands of people across the country, as well as those in two other continents. When the United States experienced the influenza epidemic of 1918–1919, Mother Maria encouraged her Sisters to care for the children orphaned by the epidemic and assist with the care of those suffering from influenza. While she was overseeing the expansion of her community, the Bishops of Lithuania asked Mother Maria to establish a Congregation there, which she embarked upon in 1920. The Congregation flourished and schools were opened across Lithuania. The Lithuanian Congregation is independent from the Sisters of St. Casimir of Chicago, but have fostered throughout Lithuania's turbulent history of oppression a close and sisterly bond. As the need for addressing health care became more apparent, Mother Maria prepared her Sisters as nurses and administrators who eventually staffed two hospitals in Chicago, two in Nebraska, and two nursing homes. Before she died, Mother Maria had missioned Sisters to New Mexico as home missionaries and was in the midst
"Mother Maria" continued on page 3