Mother Mary Pancratia Czelusta

Mother Mary Pancratia Czelusta was appointed the first Provincial Superior of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Province in 1920.

Arriving in Pennsylvania from the Detroit province, she established a temporary provincial house in East McKeesport, near Pittsburgh. Although approval for a fourth province in Western Pennsylvania had been granted in 1914, further communication with the General Administration in Poland had been interrupted due to World War I.

Until a provincial motherhouse could be built, Mother Pancratia and the sisters in the McKeesport convent endured extreme poverty and daunting hardships during the eleven years they resided there. The home was often referred to as the “poor house,” since at times, the sisters had no electricity or running water; rusty pipes often burst. And the sisters had to sleep on mattresses made of corn cobs laid on the floor. 

Mother Pancratia persevered. Leading 118 sisters, she faithfully laid the foundation for the Felician mission in Western Pennsylvania, where Felician Sisters continue to serve God’s people in a new century.