of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
(Jadwiga Kubiak)
August 4, 1903 – October 13, 2004
St. Joseph Province
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
“I ask you in the name of Jesus, through his grace and mercy, not to hesitate on the road which you have entered. Remember you are following Christ along the path of the hidden life. Preserve that spirit of the hidden life among you.” (Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, September 17, 1882.)
Jadwiga was born on August 4, 1903 in Kalisz, Poland and baptized at the Nativity of Blessed Mary Church on August 6, 1903. Her parents, Lawrence and Josephine (Ordziniak) Kubiak had five children: Jadwiga, Stefan, Jozef, Maryanna (Wasielewski) and Salomea (Mazurek). During the day, the family worked together on a farm in Poland, but in the evening there were many happy moments of song, story-telling and reading. Her father also was a shoe-maker and her mother crafted laces and altar cloths.
In her teen years, besides tending to her family responsibilities, Jadwiga went to sewing school. Jadwiga felt God’s call to religious life from childhood. At age 19, on November 2, 1922, she entered the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth from Blessed Trinity Church, Kucharki, Poland. At the convent in Kalisz, she was accepted by Moilier Virginia Komar. She spent her novitiate in Grodno and made her first profession of vows there on May 24, 1926. After her first vows she was assigned to Rabka for four years, to Cracow a half year and to Wadowice for one year.
Throughout her early years of life and into adulthood, Sister Ambrose witnessed a struggling Poland. She was born into a partitioned country where the political activity of her people was a cry for a new life. In her area of the country, she recalled that Polish could not be spoken publicly and German was the required language. On November 7, 1918, the partition ended and the Polish Peoples Government was proclaimed, but freedom did not come easy. The country was divided by political factions, a strained cultural blend as a remnant from the partition and misunderstanding from foreign countries. In 1922, the year she entered Nazareth, the president of the Republic had been assassinated.
During the 1920’s, in Germany, Hitler was banding together a group of followers. Rumors ensued of Hitler’s dictatorial power and desire for a “New Order” centering on the superior Aryan race, with hopes for conquering the world. This plan included annihilation of all “inferior” races, Jews and Gypsies, definitely, but all Slavic peoples, Poles included, would soon follow. It was during these times of danger and returning political struggles in Europe that Sister Ambrose received the transfer from her religious superior that would bring her, along with other sisters from Poland, to the United States. Leaving Poland and her loved ones during this time of uncertainty did not come easily, but since she equated God’s will with following the wish of her superiors, she accepted the change. In 1931 when the Sisters from Poland came to America, twenty of them were sent to Chicago, Illinois and ten to Philadelphia. Sister Ambrose was one of the nine Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth assigned to Pittsburgh.
In 1932 Sister Ambrose made her perpetual vows in the chapel of Saint Joseph Province in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During her 73 years in Saint Joseph Province, Sister’s life of ministry included housekeeping for the chaplain-in-residence; cooking, sewing and laundry in the convents in Pittsburgh and Altoona, Pennsylvania; Lansing, Michigan and Adena, Ohio. Her service was complemented by a ready smile and a willingness to reach out to people in need. She had a caring heart for her family members in Poland. In her earlier years she would collect clothing and other items and send them to family members to use or to sell. In later years she preferred living austerely while her meager monetary donations given for her personal use went to her family. In 1988 Sister retired to Holy family Manor where she focused her life on prayer spending her afternoons in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. She also continued in her service to the sisters there until her body weakened and she was confined to a wheelchair. After many declines in her health condition, she would often surprise the community with her quick rebound and her regular attendance at daily Eucharist Sharing one example, Father David Moczulski OFM was notified a few months ago that Sister Ambrose was in the hospital and near death. Recognizing her age, he hurriedly went to visit. Expecting to see a person near death, he reverently entered the room only to find Sister seated in the chair beside her bed. Surprised by the quick improvement, he asked her, ‘Sister Ambrose, how are you?” “Dobrze, Ojcze!” she responded with a recovered energy.
On October 13, 2004, after months of declining health, Sister Ambrose quietly went to the Lord. A wake service held at Holy Family Manor in the afternoon of October 15 was followed by a funeral liturgy at 5:30 P.M. Father David Moczulski celebrated the funeral liturgy with a small gathering of family, friends and her Sisters in community . She was buried in Saint Joseph Cemetery on the provincialate grounds after the services.
Digitized by S. Brendan O'Brien, CSFN
Instructor
School of Arts & Sciences
History Department
Holy Family University
9801 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19114
215-637-7700 x3279
srbrendan@holyfamily.edu
http://web3.holyfamily.edu/srbrendan
Last updated: February 2006