Today, Sisters of Christian Charity and Companions of Pauline around the world celebrate the feast day of Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt, who died on April 30, 1881. Pauline was born on June 3, 1817 in Minden, Westphalia (Germany). Her family's wealth and prestige did not close her mind to the hardships of others. As a young woman, she was particularly involved with the poverty-stricken families on the outskirts of Paderborn, Germany. She nursed their sick and brought them food. To aid them further, she opened a day care center for the children of working mothers -- an undertaking which brought to her attention the needs of blind children and led her to found a school for the blind.
When Pauline's works of charity became too vast for her to manage alone, she founded a religious community, the Congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity, in 1849. The story of the spread of the Congregation beyond Germany to other parts of Europe, the United States, South America, and the Philippines is worth exploring. Discover more information about the Sisters of Christian Charity by visiting scceast.org or sccwilmette.org.
This video (located at scceast.org) provides a wonderful overview of the life of Blessed Pauline:
(Email subscribers: If you do not see a video embedded above, please click here to view the video.)
Today, we pray: Father in heaven, lead us in the way of love as you led Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt. Open our hearts to others, that loving them as your Son commanded, we may be one with them in your heavenly kingdom. Amen
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