Journey - Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate ...

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Journey
Fall 2012
A Courageous Heart —
“Come back and practice your
writing lesson.” “We want to
play; we’re having so much fun.”
“Kaze (KAH-zeh) come back this
instant and get to your studies or
I’ll cut off your braids,” shouted
seventeen-year-old Anthony,
her seminarian brother. Kaze
responded, “Catch us if you can!”
Tug, snip—the horrified eightyear
old looked down at her brown
braid lying forlorn on the ground.
Sobbing in her mother’s arms, she
was consoled that the hair would
grow back quickly. Still sniffling,
Kaze mulled over the incident
and resolved to be faithful to her
studies. This fun-loving girl grew
up to be a very courageous and
holy woman.
Casimira Kaupas (nicknamed
Kaze) was born in Gudeliai,
Lithuania in 1880. Her father, a
leader in the village, allowed his
home to be the center for Sunday
common prayer and a secure
stopover for “book smugglers,”
men who secretly carried
manuscripts to and from Germany
for printing in the forbidden
Lithuanian language. To be
caught as part of this movement
would be instant imprisonment by
the Russian Cossacks. Kaze loved
her father deeply and resolved to
imitate his virtuous prayerful life.
From his example she was imbued
with a fidelity to prayer and
courage to hold to what is right.
At age fifteen, her calm
and peaceful life was greatly
disturbed when Anthony, now
a priest and ministering to the
many Lithuanian immigrants in
Scranton, PA, wrote asking that
Casimira be allowed to come
as his housekeeper. She was
deeply attached to her
family and so her heart was
terrified. Nonetheless, she
conformed to her parents’
wishes and outwardly
displayed courage so as
not to offend her loved
ones. Her troubled heart
sought solace in prayer, seeking
the strength to leave her family
and face the awesome voyage to
America— alone.
In May 1897, seventeen-yearold
Casimira began the harrowing
journey as she traveled by train at
night and then by day concealed
under a canvas on a wagon filled
with grain bags. The Czarist
government, then governing
Lithuania, forbade the youth to
leave the country and so she had
to be smuggled out. She and
a few other escapees were led
by men who were paid to bring
them safely across the border
into Germany. While climbing
a high bank someone screamed
and the men took off without
her. She ran breathlessly to catch
up. When she did, she found
out that they had successfully
crossed the border and were soon
met by an armed guard. She
was experiencing the fate of
immigrants even as some of them
do today.
Casimira remained for four
years as Father Anthony’s
housekeeper but was forever
homesick. Her father passed away
and she longed for her mother’s
companionship. Her prayer life
grew strong through the depth of
her spiritual reading, but her heart
remained lonely. One day while
on the streetcar she saw sisters for
the first time in her life. She asked
her brother with great interest who
they were, to which he responded
that they were women who lived
for God alone. Here was the
answer to her continuous search
for meaning to her life. When
she expressed interest in joining
the convent her brother tried to
dissuade her by buying her lovely
clothes, but Casimira remained
focused and knew she would never
regret giving up anything.
To her brother’s
disappointment, Casimira did
return to Lithuania. While there
she finally resolved to return
to the United States and enter
a convent. Meanwhile the
Pennsylvania Lithuanian
Priests’ League decided they
would build schools if they
had Lithuanian sisters, for it
was the only way to help the
immigrants preserve their
faith and culture. Casimira’s
name came up and Father
Anthony wrote asking if
she would be the foundress
of this new congregation.
She heartily agreed and
her brother sent her to
Switzerland to study. Here
many challenges surrounded
her daily: loneliness, learning
the German language, and
learning to live the life of a
religious. The source and
strength of this courageous
heart was found in her great
love for the Lord, her dearest
Friend.
Arrangements were
made for her and her two
companions for further
religious studies in
America. Mother M. Cyril,
IHM, welcomed them to
Marywood in Scranton. In
Casimira’s autobiography
she wrote that she, “was
familiar with Scranton and
had occasionally seen those
sisters from a distance.” It was
their very example that drew
her to the convent. With the
greatest joy she thanked Divine
Providence; she was going, as
it were, to her true home.
With joy Casimira, in 1907,
professed her vows as Sister Maria
in the new congregation, the
Sisters of St. Casimir. The Sisters,
Servants of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary (IHM) guided the
fledgling community until 1913
when Sister Maria was elected the
superior general. The friendship
between Mother M. Cyril, IHM
and Mother Maria matured and
deepened throughout their lives.
The following years were
both blessed and challenging for
Mother Maria as her congregation
Sister Margaret Petcavage
presenting the “Positio” to
Oblate School of Theology
president, Rev. Ron Rolheiser,
OMI, and San Antonio
Archbishop Gustavo Garcia
Siller, MSpS.
grew and schools and
hospitals were staffed.
In 1920 the Bishops
of Lithuania, now
experiencing freedom
from Czarist rule, invited
Mother to return to her
homeland to establish
Mother Maria