Sister M. Jolanda Marianna Bzdok

I was born in 1944 in Pokoj near Opole. Honestly, I owe my religious vocation partly to my beloved parents. During their wedding, they promised each other that they would accept as many children as God would give them, one of whom should be a priest (if there was a son) or a nun (if there was a daughter). God really has a sense of humor! We chose monastic life!

I joined the Congregation of the Hospital Franciscan Sisters, and my younger sister Elżbieta joined the Congregation of the Daughters of the Redeemer in Germany. We are both nurses. During my First Holy Communion, I promised the Lord Jesus that I would participate in the Eucharist every day and accept Him into my heart. It was a promise made by a little girl, but I really stuck to it.

When I was 16, I told my parents that I wanted to join a convent. I want to be a sister like our Franciscan Hospital sisters here from my town who work in the hospital. My father thought it would be good for me to work with them for a while and get to know this life, because I was still too young to make such a decision. I listened and went with Sister Camiliana (supervisor of the convent in Pokój) to Ołdrzychowice. 

 In Ołdrzychowice, I could freely talk to the provincial superior – Mother Ludwiga. I worked with the sisters in Ołdrzychowice for less than a year, observed their lives, and my desire to be one of them grew. I was accepted into the congregation on January 6, 1961. with the permission of the Superior General, because I was only 17 years old. And so my religious life began and continues. In the meantime, I completed a 2-year medical study and another dream of mine, working with children with special needs, came true.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of my religious vows and I am as happy as the day I joined the order. I only have one wish: that one day a song will be sung at my funeral Mass – “My Mother, My Order…”.