The year 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of bringing the mortal remains of Bishop Joseph Martin Nathan from Opava in the Czech Republic to the Holy Family Church in Branice, Poland. This year also marks the 120th anniversary of the opening of the hospital founded by God’s servant Msgr. Martin Joseph Nathan.
Bishop Nathan invited the Sisters of Mary Immaculate to serve at the Branice hospital, who established a facility here on October 23, 1898, responding to his invitation with heartfelt prayer and diligent work. Bishop Martin Joseph Nathan leaned on the mentally ill, creating a hospital that became a home for them.
“Do mercy” this request and encouragement of Fr. Jan Schneider, the founder of our congregation, here in Branice, under the guidance of Bishop Nathan gave the sisters serving in Branice a new and fresh quality of mercy rendered. On Saturday, November 9, in the City of Mercy, during the Eucharist, we gave thanks for the person and work of Bishop Nathan. A prayer for the beatification of God’s servant Bishop Nathan, a concert by the FLOW Band, as well as the promotion of a book written by Sister Alodia Lelek dedicated to Bishop Nathan completed the solemn thanksgiving of the day.
In 1974, Sister Alodia Lelek SMI undertook to write her master’s thesis on Bishop Nathan at the Theological Faculty of the Catholic University of Lublin. This year, on the occasion of Bp. Nathan’s anniversary, Sister Alodia’s thesis was published in book form through the efforts of the Caritas Christi Association. The publication is titled: THE FATHER OF THE POOR. The life and work of Father Bishop Joseph Martin Nathan (in the years 1867-1947).
Sister Alodia assiduously, for three years, collected the necessary materials on the person of Bishop Nathan, she also obtained information from the sisters who knew the Bishop personally. The sisters also assisted Sr. Alodia in translating the acquired writings and documents in Polish and Czechoslovak archives.
In the introduction to her work, the author admits:
It is hard to believe that already fifty years have passed since I wrote my master’s thesis on Bishop Joseph Martin Nathan, the book edition of which has just reached readers interested in the life and work of this great man. The topic of my thesis actually arose partly by accident. I was studying with a sister of the Wroclaw Province and to her I gave priority to choosing the topic. She chose the topic of the history of our congregation, and I chose one about Bishop Nathan. Only after time did I realize that it was a blessed coincidence Discovering more and more documents about Fr. Bishop Nathan, I was able to learn more and more about the uniqueness of his person. Today, I am happy that this work can also bring the figure of the Bishop closer to others who will be reached. In all the work of the City of Mercy, it is worth emphasizing the great care for every detail of the medical care, the farmyard and the church. Inviting the Sisterhood to help was an important aspect of the Bishop’s care for the sick. He counted on the generosity and spirit that the Sisters would bring to the place, and he was not disappointed. Everything was to bring relief to the suffering and anguish of the mentally ill. Today it gives hope that the current director Krzysztof Nazimek has understood the thought of Fr. Bishop Nathan and continues his mission It only remains for me to wish everyone an enjoyable and spiritually enriching reading experience.
Endowed with many charisms, Bishop Martin Joseph Nathan inspires great respect and the phenomenon of the City of Mercy he founded continues to delight, arouse admiration and generate gratitude. Undoubtedly, Sr. Alodia’s work presents Bishop Joseph Martin Nathan as a man, a priest, a bishop with a fascinating imagination of mercy.
s. Małgorzata Cur SMI