of the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit
(Eleonore Karczewska)
January 19, 1924 – November 8, 2006
Sacred Heart Province
Des Plaines, Illinois
“How eloquent and encouraging to us is the example of the Blessed Virgin, who from early childhood abandoned everything. She loved her God and Lord above everything else and offered herself for the fulfillment of his plans.” (To the Sisters in temporary vows, Cracow, March 10, 1890)
In the midst of a cold South Bend winter, Eleonore Karczewska was born on January 19, 1924. She was the fifth of eight children born to John and Bernice Karczewski. She grew up with her brothers and sisters Stanley, John, Theodore, Leonard, Mary, Lillian and Harriet. A deep faith and love for God was instilled in their souls by the example of their loving parents, who made countless sacrifices to provide all of their children with a Catholic education.
Sister Grace Ann attended St. Casimir elementary school in South Bend, Indiana. It was here that the seed of her religious vocation was nurtured. Sister had a great admiration for Sister Celine, her fourth grade teacher, who encouraged her to pray for the gift of religious vocation. Daily after Holy Communion young Eleonore prayed, “Lord, when I get big give me a vocation to be a Sister.” She made use of every opportunity she had to be with the sisters. In seventh and eighth grade she would help the sisters in church and sacristy. Her close relationship with the sisters at St. Casimir’s convent continued to influence her life and deepen her desire to serve God as a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth. It seemed that God had heard her prayer, because not only was Sister Grace Ann taught by the Sisters of Nazareth, but she also had four relatives in the congregation. Sister Gracjana, her mother's sister, was in Pittsburgh, her mother’s two cousins, Sisters Hermana and Zdzislawa and her father’s cousin Sister Baltazara.
After graduating in 1939, Sister attended Villa Nazareth High School in Des Plaines. She entered Nazareth June 12, 1942. On July 18, 1943, she was invested and given the name Gracianne, after her aunt who died in October 1939 one month after she became an aspirant. Sister made her temporary vows August 2, 1945, and her perpetual vows September 1, 1951, taking the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit as her mystery.
Sister Grace Ann had a great love for teaching and church work. She began her ministry in elementary education at St. Hyacinth School in 1945. For almost sixty-one years she influenced the lives of many students in the schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the dioceses in Indiana, Wisconsin and Florida. She enjoyed challenging her students and was very creative in finding methods that made her classes interesting and exciting. Her artistic talents were reflected in the beautiful manner she decorated her classroom as well as in her students’ art work.
In almost every parish that sister ministered, she was assigned the duty of parish sacristan. Once again she used her talents to beautify the church for every liturgical holiday. On Palm Sunday and several days prior to it, she spent countless hours braiding, twisting and weaving palms into beautiful designs. The crowns and crosses she made were flawless. She made sure that the sisters, clergy, family and friends had a palm to display in their homes. As soon as she completed that project, she started hand painting Easter eggs. In addition to the painting, she created flowers from tiny sea shells that she painstakingly painted and attached to the egg. She would then embellish each flower with various colored backgrounds. These again were shared with the sisters, her relatives, the clergy and benefactors.
Whatever Sister did, she did with her whole heart and soul. She was faithful to prayer, which she stated was the source of her strength and her desire to do all that God asked of her. It was evident that her prayer life influenced all that she did – for whatever was asked of her she did extraordinarily well, in a quiet, peaceful and simple manner. Her love for others was reflected in her cheerful disposition and her ability to be a good listener. She wrote in her Portrait of Life, “If I had nothing to give a person, I would give them my smile. It was a pleasure to see their face light up with a smile in return.”
During her active ministry she served as teacher, principal, superior, director of postulants, librarian and receptionist. In spite of her busy schedule, she loved to embroider and crochet. She enjoyed classical music and decorating the convent for holidays. When she retired from teaching she served as the school librarian. Having more free time available to her she began to befriend many of the senior parishioners and developed close friendships. She often joined them for Bingo, spent time listening to them and always assuring them of her prayers.
Sister had a great devotion to the Holy Spirit and to St. Joseph, whom she lovingly referred to as “my Joey, who never lets me down.”
In 2003, Sister’s heath began to become more fragile. She was transferred to Nazarethville, where she continued to do handiwork and be involved in various activities. In October of this year, she was hospitalized and later transferred to Holy Family Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. It was evident that her strength and health were failing. and she needed to return home to Nazarethville. Daily Sister’s energy and strength were ebbing away and she peacefully surrendered her life to her Lord on the night of November 8. It was not unusual that St. Joseph, (her Joey) came to escort her home on a Wednesday.
May God give you eternal rest and reward you for your faithful service.
Digitized by S. Brendan O'Brien, CSFN, MA
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: November 2006