On this day in 1918, at the age of 58, Mary Theresa Dudzik entered into eternal life. She accomplished a lot of good in her time on Earth. After immigrating to Chicago from Poland at 21, she would invite poor elderly women and girls to her home. “I felt the misery and suffering of others, and it seemed to me that I could not love Jesus, or even expect Heaven if I were concerned only about myself,” she wrote. Dudzik started the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago in 1893, the first order of religious women founded in Chicago. The community devoted itself to aiding the elderly and those in need. She received the honorary title of “Mother” in 1948 and is now a candidate for sainthood. Learn more about Venerable Mary Theresa Dudzik and her heroic virtue.