Saints come from many ways of life; soldiers, such as St. Martin of Tours and St. Sebastian; aristocratic families and wealth, such as St. Francis Borgia and St. Katherine Drexel; artists, such as St. Catherine of Bologna and St. Luke; or even celebrities, such as St. Bernadette of Lourdes and St. Catherine of Siena. Today’s saint had all those characteristics: St. Albert Chmielowski. St. Albert was born into an aristocratic family near Krakow, Poland in 1845. As Poland had been partitioned three times in the 18th century, many Poles rebelled, including St. Albert. He was part of the January Insurrection of 1863-1864 and lost his leg during a battle. After the uprising, he became a painter and was celebrated as one of the premier artists of Poland.
However, he wanted more from life, namely, to grow closer to God. He became a Third Order Franciscan and was allowed to run Krakow’s homeless shelter. He sold his paintings to pay for improvements. He banned alcohol from the shelter, asked residents to work, taught them working skills, and taught them the Catechism. He set up two religious orders, the Albertine Brothers and Sisters, who were dedicated to serving the poor. St. Albert died in 1916. Pope St. John Paul II was deeply impacted by St. Albert, writing a play about him in 1949, Our God’s Brother, which is about a legendary meeting between St. Albert and Vladimir Lenin.
God calls us wherever we are and in whatever state we are. He calls us to be holy and to come closer to him through our brothers and sisters who are dependent on our efforts. God saves us through others and he calls us to save others through our service to them and our love of them.
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