Sister Mary Wenceslaus Zubrycka

One of the first five Felician Sisters missioned from Poland, Sister Mary Wenceslaus Zubrycka is central to the history of the North American province. 
 
Having weathered grueling days and dire conditions on the Wisconsin frontier, Sister Wenceslaus persevered with great faith and boundless confidence in the mission. With grit, pioneering spirit, and relentless determination, she helped drive the evolution of the Buffalo province in its earliest days.
 
From Polonia, Wisconsin, where the Felician mission in America began, Sister Wenceslaus relocated to Detroit, Michigan, along with the first province, continuing to serve in leadership. 

In 1901, Sister Wenceslaus joined Mother Mary Brunona Pydynkowska in Buffalo, New York at the new Immaculate Heart of Mary Province. Blessed with organizational skills, deep faith, and pioneering drive, Sister Weneceslaus was appointed provincial vicar of its first provincial council. 
 
She continued to serve as a provincial councilor in the administration led by Mother Mary Jerome Schneck, and for 20 years in leadership roles in Buffalo’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Province. 
 
Throughout her years, she proved instrumental in establishing and staffing 23 schools within the diocese. She herself was the principal of SS. Peter and Paul School in Depew, New York, in 1909.
 
Sister Wenceslaus’s advice and counsel on the first two provincial leadership teams proved invaluable in the establishment and organization of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy (Villa Maria Academy), the Infant Jesus Day Nursery, and St. Felix Home.