Franciszka Siedliska was born on 12 November 1842, the eldest child of
Szlachta members, Adolf Adam Siedliski and Cecylia Marianna Morawska, of Jewish descent, in
Roszkowa Wola,
Poland. She received a private education from governesses in a household indifferent to faith, until she met the zealous
Franciscan Capuchin priest, Leander Lendzian, who prepared her for her
First Communion on 1 May 1855 when she resolved to offer herself to
God. She had met the priest in
Warsaw at an event her grandfather was hosting in November 1854. Siedliska wanted to pursue a religious vocation around 1860 but her parents opposed the idea. Her father said he would rather see her dead than become a
nun. In 1860 she moved with her parents to
Switzerland then went on to
Prussia and to
France. Her frail health led her parents to seek treatment for her in
Murano and
Cannes before the family returned to Poland in 1865. The death of her father in 1870 allowed her the freedom to pursue her dream and she became part of the
Third Order of Saint Francis in 1870 in
Lublin. On 12 April 1873 with guidance from Father Lendzian she was encouraged to found an order inspired by the notion that "it was God's will that she should do so". Siedliska was granted a private audience with
Pope Pius IX on 1 October 1873 and "her idea" received his apostolic blessing; she founded her new congregation in
Rome at the beginning of
Advent in 1875. Siedliska made her solemn profession as a nun on 1 May 1884 and took the religious name of "Maria of Jesus, the Good Shepherd". The congregation spread at a rapid rate across
Europe. She arrived in
New York Harbor on 4 July 1885 and was in
Chicago to open schools on 6 July 1885. Siedliska led eleven sisters to found a community in
Des Plaines, then opened a house in
Pittsburgh a decade later, in August 1895. In Rome she presided over religious exercises and held conferences and wrote letters of encouragement to more than 29 foundations. She travelled to
Paris in 1892 and to
London in 1895. She returned to Rome after several extensive travels on 16 October 1902 and was never to leave again due to failing health. Siedliska died in Rome on 21 November 1902 from acute
peritonitis she had suffered for six days. Her remains were buried at
Campo Verano on 24 November and were relocated on 9 July 1953 to the order's motherhouse at 18 Via Machiavelli. On 29 September 1966 they were relocated again to the new generalate of the order at 400, Via Nazareth. Her order has numbered more than 1500 religious and ranges from places like
Israel to
Australia. Her order received a papal decree of praise from
Pope Leo XIII on 1 September 1896 and then definitive papal approval from
Pope Pius XI on 4 June 1923. In 2005 there were 152 houses with 1490 religious but in 2015 the number fell to 1300. ==Beatification==