Blessed Edmund Bojanowski dedicated his whole life to the service of those in greatest need in the Archdiocese of Poznan, Poland, then under foreign occupation.
Born in the Villa Grabonóg on Nov. 14, 1814, Edmund Bojanowski was the son of devout, patriotic landed gentry. After his studies, he heard the cry of the suffering and the deprived and became a servant of abandoned children, the sick, and of those most in need. He shared with them his material goods, and dedicated to them his spiritual gifts, his literary and pedagogical talents.
He undertook various initiatives, organizing, among others, day nursery schools, a home for orphans, relief for the sick, village libraries and activities. Within the budding lay-apostolate movement of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Edmund Bojanowski interpreted the Gospel literally and his life expressed this in acts of love, of respect, and of dedication to the service of others.
These values and skills were transmitted to the religious family, the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, which he founded on May 3, 1850 to provide for the needs of the people. The very title is linked to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom he was very devoted.
In his last testament, Edmund Bojanowski repeated his recommendation of simplicity and mutual love to his sisters, telling them that the rest the Holy Spirit will teach them. He then breathed his last on Aug. 7, 1871, at Górka Duchowna in the shadow of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation. Pope John Paul II declared him Blessed in Warsaw on June 13, 1999.
Today the Little Servant Sisters of Stara Wies, near Brzozow, are worldwide. Besides Poland and the United States, the congregation is represented in Rome, Germany, Moscow, and on missions in Moldova, Ukraine, Russian Eastern Siberia, and in Zambia, South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania.
The sisters regard their service -especially to children, the deprived, the sick and the elderly- as their main mission received from God through their founder Blessed Edmund Bojanowski.
In the United States the sisters have their Provincialate in Cherry Hill, and they serve at the adjacent Blessed Edmund Early Childhood Education Center; Saint Mary’s Rehabilitation Center and the Villa; Sacred Heart Home for Retired Priests; Saint John’s Retreat House in Atlantic City; pastoral service in Cooper Hospital, Camden; Saint Joseph’s Senior Home – Assisted Living and Nursing Home, Woodbridge; Saint Joseph’s Convent and Mount Carmel Visiting Home Nursing Service, Woodbridge and environs; Saint John Paul Preschool, Nursing Service & Soup Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio; Saint Vincent Ferrer School in Delray Beach, Florida; as well as religious education in the parishes and youth ministry in the states where they serve.
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