About Us

History of the International Congregation

In 1875 in Rome, Frances Siedliska founded the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, an international congregation of religious women. Two years earlier, she had received a handwritten blessing from Pope Pius IX on her petition to organize the new religious institute. In 1989, Pope John Paul II beatified our Foundress under her religious name: Mother Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

For more history and photos, visit http://www.nazarethfamily.org/stmaria/foundress Her feast day is celebrated Nov. 21.

Sr. Stella and companions, our martyred sisters

Sr. Mary Stella, CSFN, (Adela Mardosewicz) and her 10 companion sisters were executed by the Nazi regime on Aug. 1, 1943, and buried in a common grave outside Nowgródek, then in Poland, now part of Belarus. In the wake of mass arrests the previous month in Nowogredek, Sr. Mary Stella and her companions prayed: "O God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us who are free from family obligations and spare those who have wives and children." Sr. Stella and her 10 companions were beatified by Pope John Paul II. Their feast is celebrated on Sept. 4.

For more of their story, see http://www.nazarethcsfn.org/news-events/current-headline.php?from=current&ID=193

the transcript of a talk on the CSFN martyrs presented by Sr. Rita Kathryn Sperka in November 2009 at Holy Family University.

And visit http://www.nazarethfamily.org/stmaria/martyred