of the Warsaw and Krakow Visitation Monasteries, 17th century!
Maria Cecylia Krasińska – Warsaw Visitation Sister. Translating and publishing activity of the Warsaw convent of the Visitation Sisters in the second half of the 17th century. excerpts in translation by work of Wojciech Jerzy Górczyk
Cecylia Krasińska (ca. 1643–1693) entered the Order of the Visitation Sisters in 1663,
taking the name Maria Cecylia. At the Warsaw convent, she got involved in the translating and publishing activity of the nuns, translating her order’s Custom Book from French.
This work, with a preface written by Krasińska, was published in 1682. Thus, Maria
Cecylia became one of the first Polish women translators and one of the first three Polish
women – another one being her fellow sister Katarzyna Krystyna Branicka – whose
work was published. Later, both these nuns – as Superior Sisters in Kraków – initiated
the publishing activity of that convent.
Source: Herstoria. Autorki i bohaterki tekstów kultury (wuw.pl)
Early Life
Cecylia Krasińska came from a senatorial family. She was born around 1643 as the daughter of Stanisław Krasiński, castellan of Ciechanów (1644–1650) and Płock (1650–1654), and his second wife, Teodora née Grzybowski, castellan of Lublin. We can’t tell much about her childhood but we know that she had siblings, brothers: Mikołaj, Władysław, Jakub and sisters: Anna and Marianna . She lost her mother early, and in 1654, when she was 11, Stanisław died. Initially, the orphan was taken care of by her grandmother from the mother’s side. Visitation Sisters wrote: “Little Cecylka after the death of her parents raised in the rigor of the grandmother, who was German (…), grandmother wanted to keep her from worldly vanity, although she was not as pretty as her younger sister”. The grandmother in question was Maria Joanna Petinger, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Constance. After her death, Cecilia was taken care of by her brother Jakub, chamberlain of Płock and the staroste of Nowy Korczyn, who died . Then care fell to her uncle Jan Kazimierz Krasiński, the Grand Treasurer of the Crown. Then, in spring that year, Cecylia was given by her guardian to the Visitation Sisters in Warsaw in the boarding school.
In 1663, there were a total of fourteen Visitation nuns in the school together with girls Cecilia, and including two of the Queen’s pupils and Anna Snopkowska, a pupil of King John Casimir. They presented a new type of teaching. Apart from manual work (embroidery, sewing) and catechism, they also taught reading and writing, as well as Latin and French languages. This last one in particular was a bold move on the part of the sisters. In the 17th century, even teaching Latin to women caused… at least a surprise, and the French language was a real shock.
School Life
Jan Kazimierz Krasiński knew the Visitation well and cared about the proper education of his pupil. Cecilia, however, had absolutely a different opinion . The sisters recorded: She came to the guesthouse reluctantly, but convinced herself that she would survive if it’s a retreat for a while. Over time, she became bored with the monastic life and resentment towards the sisters grew. She sometimes said she would feel like throwing them into the river. Studying was not a problem for Cecilia, but discipline was a major problem for her. Krasińska was described as a haughty person with an “extraordinary emotional disposition ”, and she was endowed with extraordinary beauty, but as noted, not as pretty as her sister – which she was allegedly jealous of. Probably the fact that she was a mature woman for those times (she was 20 years old) didn’t help either. She met the girls for the first time from the lower classes, whom she had to treat as equals, which was unimaginable, and not only for her. There was such a form of care for the poor which was one of the reasons why representatives of the nobility did not agree to allow their daughters to join the convents.
All this made Cecylia feel frustration was growing. The Nuns to soften it, agreed to let her visit her family every week , but this also caused her new problems, because either the horse was struggling or the wheel of the carriage broke.
Finally, it was suggested that the girl make a retreat, and she agreed hoping that she would calmly come up with a plan to leave , and at the same time she would pray for help in realizing this intention.
However, the effect of the retreat surprised everyone. Well, Cecylia decided to enter Visitation without any help or delay. The superior, Mother Maria Eleonora de Ponsein, was surprised Due to the sudden change in the retreatant’s attitude, she did not want to allow her to start the novitiate. It seems that it ultimately contributed to changing her decision as the opinion of Mother de Thelis – who was the only one who thought that Krasińska was suitable became a nun – and Cecilia began her period of postulancy
NOVITIATE
On December 8, 1663, Cecylia Krasińska began her novitiate, accepting…the habit and name Maria Cecilia. Thus, the daughter of the castellan of Płock stood. She became the third Polish woman to join the Visitation Order. The novitiate period was not easy for the girl, which was to be expected considering her character. And here learning didn’t cause any problems for Cecilia – she learned French, but also learned liturgical books and writings theological, including the founders of the order: St. Francis de Sales and Saint. Jane de Chantal. The novice mistress (in this case the aforementioned Mother de Thelis) was obliged to teach “herself or through her Assistant to write, spelling, numbers, sewing”. Cecilia’s temperament made it difficult for her to adapt to monastic life. Pride was also an obstacle for this senatorial daughter.
The Visitation Sisters presented a new type of spirituality. They moved away from external mortifications towards internal mortifications, including: exercising in humility. This involved, for example, a nun with a rope around her neck going to the sisters in the refectory and asking for prayers or – carrying a plate – for alms in the form of food. After the first such exercise, Cecylia went to the Mother and told her that she was unable to survive such humiliation and eished to leave the novitiate, to which the mistress responds: “certainly not today, my child. And tomorrow you will repeat this mortification. Later, if you decide that it is beyond your strength, there is a loophole, and when you leave, throw your habit away.” The girl calmed down and stayed there in the novitiate. Moreover, she began to work on changing her character. This is interesting because we are dealing here with a conscious psychological process that is an integral whole with the spiritual process. Krasińska not only took up psychological work as a supplement spiritual work, but she was supported in this by her teacher.
PROFESSION of vows
After a two-year novitiate she was admitted to religious vows in December 1665. But then another problem arose. Cecilia’s uncle and brothers strongly opposed it.. It may be surprising that they did it only after she had completed her novitiate. They probably considered joining the convent to be just another girl’s whim and they accepted this fact, probably hoping that she would abandon the habit just as quickly, as how she accepted it. It should be emphasized that at that time there were no temporary vows; perpetual vows were taken immediately, so it was a final decision. The novice accepted the family’s decision with great calm, but decided not to leave the order but to continue her novitiate. After four months of impasse, it became clear that Cecilia would not change her mind and the family gave up opposition.
On March 7, 1666, 23 years old, Cecylia took her perpetual vows. Sister Maria Cecylia Krasińska – took her vows in the Visitation convent in Warsaw There were already two Polish women, she and Sr. Katarzyna Krystyna Branicka (Sr. Maria Ludwika Warszawice died in 1662), and twelve French women.
In the monastery French was spoken every day, including the founders’ writings in the library convent which were in this language. Thus, the need for translation into Polish as more Polish women entered the Monastery. The Visitation Sisters greatly appreciated the role of printing and were occupied with it from the very beginning of the order’s existence..They published their own works.
Sister Maria Cecylia Krasinski, being so fluent in French, was one of the convent translators of French works into Polish.
There were also letters and introductions to translations that she authored.
Krakow Visitation Monastery
Sister Maria Cecylia eventually went to the new Visitation Monastery in Krakow where she was made Superior at the age of 45. (1688-1693). After her election as superior in Krakow, we came to know her completely changed, so gentle in temperament.
Her mild, or even too mild, character was also recorded in the chronicles of the Krakow Visitation.. Mother Krasińska fulfilled the difficult task of leading the monastery extremely well and in 1691 she was elected for a second term, during which the sisters moved to the new monastery building at the corner of Biskupi Square and Krowoderska Street. At that time, the superior entrusted Sister Branicka, another translator sister, with the position of assistant.
Maria Cecylia Krasińska was an extraordinary person. Her extraordinary advantages with intellect and character made her a pioneer in many fields. She was one of the first three Polish women to join the Visitation as well one of the first to become superior in this order. She was one of the first three Polish translators whose work was published in print. Finally – one of the first two Polish nuns whose work was printed under their own name
Mother Krasińska died on January 26, 1693, at the age of 49, in the fifth year her superiorship. She died in the reputation of holiness, as Mother Cantarini writes: (…) her memory is still alive among the inhabitants of Krakow. Many pray to her (even priests and monks among them), assuring them that they receive from God what they ask Him for through her intercession. (Also many of the our sisters claim that they have received the grace to overcome themselves in things that previously seemed impossible to them. Mother Maria Cecilia watches over us (…). May the Good God give us the grace to imitate her.
This report was supplemented by Visitation from Krakow: “people from our villages called on her in various needs and were always listened to, and the sisters said “they recalled with fondness the virtues of this mother”