Paul Suski –
Kraków is an immensely popular pilgrimage destination and undoubtedly the most frequented tourist city in Poland. It is a home to over 350 Roman Catholic churches. However, the most significant site is the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, which houses the Shrine of St. Faustina and the renowned image of the Merciful Christ. A mere 750-meter walk away is the John Paul II Sanctuary, where devotees can venerate the relics of the Holy Pontiff. Nonetheless, there is one exceptional place in Kraków that you must not miss—the grave of the Venerable Servant of God, Rozalia Celak, located in section XLVIII of the Rakowicki Cemetery.
Rozalia Celak was born on September 19, 1901, a period that was also marked by the lives of such eminent figures as Pope St. John Paul II, Bl. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and St. Faustina Kowalska. Rozalia was the eldest of eight children in a devout Catholic household, nurtured in faith by her parents, Tomasz and Joanna.
The practice of daily prayer, family singing of the Little Hours of the Immaculate Conception, evening Rosary, and frequent Holy Communion imbued the children with a need for constant communion with God and bestowed graces that bore fruit in later life. Reading the Holy Scriptures and religious books played a significant role in this spiritual upbringing.
When Rozalia was six years old, she was unjustly accused of hitting a girl and was punished for it. The Divine Educator used this situation to inspire her to offer this undeserved suffering to Him out of love.
At the age of 10, she received her first Holy Communion, which she considered a pivotal event. On this occasion, she declared her love for Jesus: “Dear Jesus, I want nothing else but love. I want to love you as much as is possible for any creature to love God. You, dear Jesus, nobody else!”
In 1917, she received the sacrament of Confirmation and was increasingly experiencing mystical moments. By 1918, she privately vowed chastity in her parish church.
Before Rozalia found a suitable priest, she endured significant hardship. She recalls, “I decided to go to confession and ask the confessor if there was still any hope for me. How disheartened I was when no priest was willing to hear my confession. Some dismissed me as delusional, others claimed that God had not granted them insight into my soul, and others scolded me, insisting I was describing things that simply do not happen in the world. Some even bluntly told me that it was all unnatural.”
The ordeal of the ‘dark night’ suffered by Rozalia lasted for some time. Its beginning is dated to 1919, while its end is placed in either 1925 or 1926. The merciful God allowed part of her spiritual torments to be similar to those experienced by St. John of the Cross or St. Teresa of Jesus. Rozalia seldom experienced powerful temptations that drew her away from faith, chastity, and humility. In her writings, we find: “The sufferings of my soul intensified with each passing day. No book and no [human] words brought me comfort or light. Nowhere could I find a reflection of my soul…”
Shortly after three unsuccessful attempts to join the Visitation Sisters, Carmelites, and Norbertines, which were overcrowded, she encountered Father Dr. Jan Tobiasiewicz while praying in St. Nicholas Church. Soon, she opened her heart to him and asked what to do next. She was fortunate, as he had previously guided another pious soul, Blessed Aniela Salawa (†1922).
In April 1925, Rozalia commenced employment at St. Lazarus Hospital in the surgical ward, serving as an attendant to the ill. At that time, such a position was highly esteemed and regarded as prestigious. On her very first night shift, she heard a voice in her soul say:
“My dear child, I want you to be in the hospital… The hospital is your place.”
After a month, she was transferred to the skin and venereal disease ward. There, the young, innocent girl was forced to listen to vulgarities and often blasphemies uttered by women of loose morals. Consequently, she began to question whether this was truly the place she should commit to long-term. More doubts started to arise in the mind of the young, inexperienced nurse, who lacked formal qualifications. It was not until 1933 that Rozalia completed a course in nursing theory and filled the gaps in her education. Once again, Jesus calmed her heart, saying:
“My child, there is no other path for you; you must remain here. This is My Will.”
Every day, she cared for over seventy patients. She often substituted for colleagues who were terrified by the suffering and stench from the patients’ wounds. Despite the Lord’s assurances that this was her place, she decided to discuss leaving and entering a convent with her confessor. Father Tobiasiewicz agreed. It seemed that for someone chosen by God, a convent would be ideal.
Shortly after arriving at the doorstep of the Poor Clares’ convent, Jesus’s words echoed in her heart.
‘This is not a place for you. God’s will is different for you.‘
No wonder that, during her time with the Franciscan Sisters, from December 1927 to March 1928, Rozalia clearly did not feel at home. Her health quickly deteriorated. It was determined that her body was too weak to endure the hardships of cloistered life. The doctor advised her to give up and return to secular life.
Upon the advice of her confessor, Rozalia returned to St. Lazarus Hospital. She occasionally worked in the emergency room, but the staff’s immoral behavior compelled her to pursue employment at an ophthalmology clinic, where she spent fifteen months. The doctors and staff were very satisfied with her work. Nevertheless, Jesus made her feel she should go back to the dermatological and venereal disease ward. Despite deteriorating working conditions and a significant salary reduction, Rozalia obeyed the Savior’s will.
“This is where I want you to work and suffer, my child.”
While attending to patients suffering from syphilis, gonorrhea, and other venereal diseases she witnessed the bitter and numerous consequences of sin. In difficult moments, she sought solace in prayer, the Rosary, Holy Communion, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and mystical conversations with Jesus.
Throughout her twenty years of service at the hospital, every patient under her care found reconciliation with God before passing away.
Her great dedication is demonstrated by the fact that she took on the majority of night shifts, willingly covering for her colleagues. Despite her humility, constant readiness to help, and agreeable nature, some people wanted to humiliate her. They even used a possessed woman to beat and insult Rozalia. However, she offered all her sufferings to God, resulting in the conversion of many people.
On the Feast of the Ascension, Rozalia had a spiritual vision: she found herself in a lecture hall of a higher educational institution, where she took a seat in the corner. From the lectern, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus was speaking alongside her dad, Louis Martin. She was teaching the principles of the “little way.” Then they presented Rozalia with a certificate, praising her for her achievements. In all subjects (such as humility, simplicity, love, etc.), she received an excellent grade, except for obedience, which came with a note of admonition. Afterward, St. Thérèse forbade Rozalia from departing from her spiritual father.
Rozalia faced unpleasantness from individuals she least expected. The Sisters of Charity did not spare her from slander and often ordered her to clean the hospital`s toilets and corridors.
According to Zofia Sławikowa, manager at St. Lazarus hospital pharmacy, Rozalia ministered spiritually to sick patients, particularly during night shifts. One night, she struggled to persuade a dying man to confess and receive Holy Communion. Kneeling by his bedside, she prayed the Rosary.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m praying,” she replied.
“For whom?”
“For you.”
“I didn’t ask for that,” he said, falling asleep.
He woke twice more, each time finding her praying. The third time, he asked, “Are you still praying for me despite my harsh words?” She replied, “Yes, because God’s goodness includes even you.” Moved, the man asked for a priest, confessed, received the sacraments, and passed away peacefully a few hours later.
Rozalia’s courage grew significantly when God allowed her to understand spiritually that she was loved by Blessed Virgin Mary. She conveyed her encounter with Mary to Fr. Zygmunt Dobrzycki. ‘Oh, Mary, My Mother, I submit to You completely, please guard and protect me since I belong to You.’
Desiring to lead a life of seclusion, Rozalia was visited by St. Joseph, the epitome of humility and hiddenness. One day, the spouse of Our Lady revealed to her, “I will assist you in all things. I will guide your entire life of prayer, which must mirror the life in Nazareth—that is: prayer, work, and a life most carefully hidden from both yourself and others.”
During the night of December 5th to 6th, 1938, she received a vision of hell.
In the final moments before World War II, Christ entrusted her with a mission: to communicate to the Polish Church hierarchs that it was the divine will of the Son of God to be proclaimed King of Poland. This enthronement was to coincide with the spiritual conversion of the Polish people. The Primate of Poland, August Hlond, wanted to ensure Rozalia was reliable and ordered medical examinations. The mystic underwent neurological examinations by Dr. Horodeński and was found to be of sound mind.
Rozalia experienced a prophetic vision and instructions for what was then in the distant–now quite immediate–future.
The mysterious person–in a grave and solemn voice–said to Rozalia:
“My child, for the sins and crimes (naming murder and debauchery) committed by humanity all over the world, God Almighty shall send a terrible punishment. Divine Justice can no longer endure those misdeeds. Only those countries where Christ will reign as King will be preserved. If you wish to save the world, the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus must be carried out in all countries and nations across the globe. Here, and only here, lies salvation. Those states and nations that refuse to accept it and will not submit to the rule of Jesus’ sweet love will perish irrevocably from the face of the earth, never to rise again. Mark my words, my child—they will perish and never rise again.”
Rozalia then reflected “my Father and I had offered ourselves completely to Jesus out of love for Him, first and foremost for Poland, and subsequently for Germany, Russia, Spain, and the entire world. Yet hardly anyone knows about this either.
“At that moment, the person took me by the hand and led me to the other side of the globe, showing me America and Australia, saying with sorrow: “Why have you not singled out these parts of the world? Did Christ not suffer for those souls? Were they not saved by His Most Precious Blood? You must include them, my child, and-in particular-America.”
One of the most unsettling revelations depicted our Lord cradling the Earth in His hands; when humanity fell short of enthroning Christ the King, the world cracked into pieces!
During the harrowing years of the German occupation of Poland (1939-1945), when the threat of arrest, deportation to concentration camps, and death loomed constantly, Rozalia wrote: “In spite of all this, I am at peace (…). If we knew how Jesus loves us, we would not let fear or terror anywhere near our souls for a single moment.” Her deepest concern was to save as many souls as possible from eternal damnation.
Rozalia’s faith remained unwavering even in January 1944, when the Gestapo arrested Father Zygmunt Dobrzycki, her last confessor and a person deeply committed to the mission of enthronement. This event deeply shook Rozalia, as she knew she could help only through prayer and sacrifice.
She died in her sleep on September 12, 1944. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a Mass was held in the hospital church with her remains present. Salvatorian priests chanted the funeral rites. Rozalia, in her coffin wearing a white gown, veil, and blue medal, appeared not deceased but “a saint in ecstasy,” said Sister Felicja Bialik.
The solemn funeral took place on September 15, attended by approximately 500 individuals, including Sisters of the Holy Spirit, Sisters of Charity, sixteen priests, doctors, hospital staff, and family members.
The confessor survived a German concentration camp and the difficult years of Stalinism’s dark night. Until his death in 1976, Fr. Dobrzycki continued to collect private testimonies from people about Rozalia’s life, as well as expressions of gratitude for miraculous healings and graces received through her intercession with God.
On November 5, 1996, the beatification process of Rozalia began. On April 17, 2007, it was concluded at the diocesan level.
Father Dr. Józef Bartnik SJ, who for many years served as confessor at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces in Warsaw, wrote in one of his books: ‘He was healed of skin cancer — completely and permanently — on the seventh day of a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the intercession of the Servant of God Rozalia Celak.’
On April 19, 2022, Pope Francis authorized the decree recognizing Rozalia Celak’s heroic virtues. Henceforth, she bears the title of Venerable Servant of God. A miracle attributed to her intercession is now essential for her beatification.
Through the gift of the Servant of God Rozalia Celak, in our chaotic milieu, God grants us the grace of unique discernment, which should not be squandered.