Marija Petković

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Roman Catholic Church
Title as SaintFoundress
Beatified6 June 2003
Dubrovnik, Croatia
by Pope John Paul II
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Marija Petković, also known as The Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petković; (

Venerable on 8 May 1998, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II
on 6 June 2003.

Biography

Petković was born in the small town of Blato on the Croatian island of Korčula (at that time part of Austria-Hungary), the sixth of eleven children born to mother Marija Marinović and father Antun Petković-Kovač.[1]

After elementary school, Petković enrolled in 1904 in Blato's municipal school, which had been recently founded by the

vow of chastity to the Lord.[1]

From 1909 to 1919 Petković was president of the Daughters of Mary. Although frail and frequently ill, in addition to her obligations in her parents' home, she provided

Third Order Franciscans. That same year, she began helping the Servants of Charity in the "soup kitchen" that they directed.[2]

In 1918, Petković made a formal promise to the Bishop to remain in Blato to help and live with the poor.

child-care facility, and an orphanage
.

On 25 August 1920, in

Apostolic Administration, Ljudevit Lajčo Budanović, asked Petković to found monasteries of her Order in Subotica and surrounding areas, so the locals could get the spiritual gain that nuns of her Order could provide them.[3] Noticing that Bačka also had problems of numerous poor and abandoned children, in 1923, Petković acted quickly and opened Kolijevka Children's Home in Subotica, Home for sick and neglected children, after which she opened numerous centers for children in Croatia (in Slavonia particularly), Serbia, and Vardar Macedonia
.

From 1920 to 1952, Petković was elected five times as the Superior General of the Daughters of Mercy. She traveled throughout Croatia, Latin America, and Italy, opening 46 communities. The growing number of Sisters served in various social ministries, such as in nursing homes, kindergartens, hospitals, nursery schools, parish work, and work in the seminaries.

Petković's statue at the Varaždin Cathedral

Beginning in 1936, the Order was prominent in Latin and

tailoring, knitting, nursing, and typing. In 1952, she went to Rome to purchase and set up the Congregation's headquarters. While there in 1954 she suffered a stroke
which left her permanently paralyzed. In 1961, she concluded that her duty to the Congregation was no longer one of leadership but of sacrifice and suffering, prayer and offering herself to the Lord, and relinquished the office of Mother Superior that she had held for 40 years.

She continued to follow the events in the Catholic Church and her Congregation, especially those changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council, until age 74, when she died. She was buried in the Roman cemetery of Campo Verano. Three years later, her remains were translated to the house chapel of the Congregation headquarters, where they remained until 1998 when they were translated to her native Blato and buried in the crypt of the monastery chapel of Christ the King.

Beatification

On 26 August 1988, the

trawler. Teniente (lieutenant) Roger Cotrina Alvarado, a Peruvian naval officer, distinguished himself during the disaster – praying for Petković's aid, Cotrina displayed superhuman strength in opening a hatch against several thousands of pounds of water. That action prevented the immediate deaths of 22 crewmen, and Cotrina's subsequent actions brought about their rescue.[4][5]

On 28 February 1989, the

Congregation for the Causes of the Saints began an investigation into the reports of the miracle. On 8 May 1998, Pope John Paul II confirmed the Congregation's initial report and decreed that Petković's heroic virtues
be publicly declared, formally recognizing her as "Venerable."

The Congregation issued their ruling on Petković's heroic virtues on 5 July 2002, and on the following 20 December issued a ruling recognizing the miraculous nature of the submarine rescue. On 6 June 2003, Pope John Paul II celebrated her beatification Mass in Dubrovnik, formally recognizing her as "Blessed."

Today, her Congregation has its branches, besides other countries, in Italy, Romania (by

Greek Catholic
community), Paraguay, Chile, Peru and Argentina.

The Sanctuary of Blessed Marija Petković is in her town of birth, Blato on the Dalmatian island of Korčula.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Vatican biography
  2. ^ a b c Pell, Cardinal George, Mass to honour Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
  3. ^ (in Croatian) Bl. Marija Petković Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine M. Stantić: Zauzimanje za siromahe - karizma danas
  4. ISBN 0860123820
  5. ^ "Bl. Marija Petkovic", Shrines of Pittsburgh
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