Blessed Angela Salawa: Secular Franciscan Wartime Nurse

On March 12, Franciscans remember Blessed Angela Salawa (1881-1922), a Secular Franciscan whose life was marked by prayer, humble service, and outreach to the sick and wounded.

She was born in the village of Siepraw near Kraków, Poland, the 11th of 12 children born to Bartlomiej Salawa and Ewa Bochenek, a very devout but poor couple. Because she was weak and sickly, Angela was not as able to help with chores as much as her more physically robust siblings. She had only a few years of formal schooling.

15th century church in Angela's home village, Siepraw, Poland

At the age of 16, Angela left home to join her older sister, Teresa, in Kraków, working as a maid. Initially, she became caught up in the amusements of city life and her religious fervor waned. However, in 1899 she was much affected by the death of her sister Teresa, who had appealed to Angela to reconsider her worldly values. Then, while dancing at a wedding reception, Angela imagined Christ standing nearby, asking her how she could prefer dancing to following Him. The experience was a turning point in her life.

Angela considered a religious vocation, but her weak physical health was an impediment. She decided to remain in the world, making a private vow of chastity in 1900. She joined the St. Zita Association, a religious support network of women in domestic service. She continued to work as a maid, but suffered due to a breach between herself and her family.

In 1912, Angela became a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. When World War I broke out in 1914, Angela remained in Kraków, working as a nurse for injured soldiers, treating each one with kindness, regardless of faith or nationality. Stories say she used her own salary and begged on the streets for money to buy resources to care for the soldiers.

Angela Salawa c. 1914

In 1916, false accusations were made against her, and she was fired from her job. By this time, her health had begun to deteriorate due to multiple sclerosis, and she lived her final years in sickness and poverty. She wrote in her diary: “Thinking back on my life, I believe I am in that vocation, place and status, in which God has called me from childhood.” The St. Zita Association and the Seculars cared for Angela in her final days. She died on March 12, 1922, at age 40.

Tomb of Blessed Angela Salawa in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Kraków

Many people in Kraków recognized Angela’s holiness, and she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1991. He said on that occasion: “It is in this city that she worked, that she suffered, and that her holiness came to maturity. While connected to the spirituality of Saint Francis, she showed an extraordinary responsiveness to the action of the Holy Spirit." Click here to see a short video (in Italian) of the Franciscan Church in Kraków where Angela worshiped and is buried.

Blessed Angela Salawa's remains are enshrined in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Kraków (source)