Małgorzata Szewczyk

Upon returning to Poland in 1880, Łucja settled in Zakroczym, near Warsaw. There she met Blessed Honorat Koźmiński (Honorat of Biała), a Capuchin priest who became her spiritual director. Under his guidance, she took her religious vows and took the name Sister Małgorzata (Margaret). Faced with the misery of abandoned elderly people, Małgorzata rented a modest apartment in Zakroczym and welcomed two sick and destitute old women, whom she sometimes carried on her own back to settle them into her home. Her dedication quickly attracted other companions eager to share her mission. On April 8, 1881, with the help and advice of Father Honorat Koźmiński, Małgorzata officially founded a new clandestine religious community under the name of "Sisters of the Poor" (Sorelle dei poveri). Due to Russian laws prohibiting any unauthorized charitable or religious activity, the sisters lived and worked in total secrecy, without wearing a distinctive religious habit. The congregation would later take the name Congregation of the Daughters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows, commonly known as the "Seraphic Sisters" (Serafitki). In 1891, in order to be able to develop their work freely, Małgorzata transferred the community to Galicia (the area of Poland under Austrian administration, where there was greater religious freedom). She settled in Oświęcim, where she had a convent and a church dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows built, which became the motherhouse of the congregation. On August 14, 1891, with the approval of Cardinal Albin Dunajewski, Archbishop of Krakow, the sisters finally donned the Franciscan religious habit. Under the leadership of Mother Małgorzata, the first superior general, the congregation developed rapidly, opening orphanages, schools, hospices for the elderly, and sewing workshops for poor young girls.

Mother Małgorzata led the congregation for twenty-three years. In 1904, weakened by age and illness, she resigned from her position as Superior General. She retired to the community in Nieszawa, where she became a simple sister once again, offering her sufferings for the Church and the poor. The townspeople, touched by her gentleness and constant piety, nicknamed her the "Angel of Goodness" (Anioł dobroci). She passed away in the odor of sanctity on June 5, 1905, in Nieszawa. Her mortal remains were transferred in 1931 to Oświęcim, and then placed in 1951 in the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, which she had built herself. The cause for the beatification of Małgorzata Szewczyk was officially opened on August 25, 1993, under the pontificate of John Paul II, after obtaining the nihil obstat from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The diocesan inquiry was conducted in the Archdiocese of Krakow from 1993 to 1996. On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thereby declaring her Venerable.

On December 20, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially approved the miracle necessary for her beatification. This miracle, which occurred in 1975, concerns the scientifically inexplicable healing of Sister Vita Elisabeth Chamielec (s. Wita Elżbieta Chamielec CMBB), a religious sister of her own congregation. Sister Vita was suffering from severe pleuropulmonary aspergillosis occurring on already severely damaged lungs, with a critical deterioration of her general condition. After fervent prayers asking for the intercession of the foundress, the religious sister was healed in a sudden, complete, and lasting manner.

The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 9, 2013, at the Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Kraków-Łagiewniki. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. Her liturgical feast is set for June 5, the day of her birth into Heaven.

The spirituality of Blessed Małgorzata Szewczyk is deeply rooted in the Franciscan charism of poverty, simplicity, and perfect joy, as well as in the contemplation of the sufferings of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Her motto, shared with her congregation, summarizes her mystical impulse: "Everything for Jesus through the Sorrowful Heart of Mary" (Wszystko dla Jezusa przez Bolejące Serce Maryi). The Eucharist was the center and source of her active charity. She saw the face of the suffering Christ in every poor, sick, or abandoned person. Today, the Seraphic Sisters continue the work of their founder in Poland, but also in several countries around the world, notably in France, Italy, Sweden, the United States, Ukraine, and Belarus. They are primarily dedicated to assisting the elderly, the sick, disabled children, and the education of youth.