Feast Day: June
17
St. Albert Chmielowski
(1845-1916)
Born in Igolomia near Kraków as
the eldest of four children in a wealthy family, he was christened Adam.
During the 1864 revolt against Czar Alexander III, Adam’s wounds forced the
amputation of his left leg.
His great talent for painting led to
studies in Warsaw, Munich and Paris. Adam returned to Kraków and became a
Secular Franciscan. In 1888 he took the name Albert when he founded the
Brothers of the Third Order of Saint Francis, Servants to the Poor. They
worked primarily with the homeless, depending completely on alms while
serving the needy, regardless of age, religion or politics. A community of
Albertine sisters was established later.
St. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1983 and canonized him six years
later.
Comment:
Reflecting on his own priestly vocation, St. Pope John Paul II wrote in 1996
that Brother Albert had played a role in its formation "because I found in
him a real spiritual support and example in leaving behind the world of art,
literature and the theater, and in making the radical choice of a vocation
to the priesthood" (Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My
Priestly Ordination, p. 33). As a young priest, Karol Wojtyla repaid his
debt of gratitude by writing The Brother of Our God, a play about Brother
Albert’s life.
Quote:
The first reading at the canonization included Isaiah 58:6 (“Is not this the
fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of
the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?”). The pope
referred to this passage and said: “This is the theology of messianic
liberation, which contains what we are accustomed to calling today the
‘option for the poor’.... In this tireless, heroic service on behalf of the
marginalized and the poor, he [Albert] ultimately found his path. He found
Christ. He took upon himself Christ’s yoke and burden; he did not become
merely ‘one of those who give alms,’ but became the brother to those he
served...” (L'Osservatore Romano 1989, Vol. 49, No. 9).