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Angela Salawa was born on September 9, 1881, in Siepraw, a village near Krakow, Poland, eleventh of twelve children. Her father, Bartlomiej Salawa, was a blacksmith, and her mother, Ewa Bochenek, a homemaker.
Though Angela was always a sickly child, she did what she could to help with household chores, and she had a solid foundation in her Catholic faith. Angela only had two years of formal education growing up.
When she was sixteen, Angela went to work in Krakow as a maid. In the big city, she became enamored with worldly things, and her religious fervor diminished somewhat. When her sister Teresa died, however Angela began to question her love of the material world. Then, one day at a wedding reception, Angela perceived that Jesus was standing nearby and asking her if she preferred dancing instead of following him. This was a wake-up call for her, and she went to church to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Angela concluded that what she wanted was to follow Jesus more closely. Though she longed for the religious life, her health was not strong enough to be a religious sister. So, she decided to live in the world. In 1900, she took a private vow to forgo marriage as a vocation. Also in that year, on April 27, she joined the Saint Zita Association on that saint’s feast day. Saint Zita was a was a thirteenth century woman who worked as a maid for the same wealthy family of Lucca, Italy for nearly fifty years and is a patron saint of domestic servants, homemakers, lost keys, single laywomen, waitresses, and the city of Lucca.
Angela continued working as a maid in Krakow. One day, however, her employer made false accusations against her, and her family became emotionally distant from her. In 1912, she became a member of the Secular Franciscan Order and was comforted in knowing that Saint Francis of Assisi himself had been estranged from his father also.
In 1914, Angela found herself nursing soldiers in need, but her health began to decline. Two years later, her employer accused her of theft and she was fired. Now, she found herself homeless, sick, and in pain.
In 1917, Angela’s health failed and she was not able to work. She found shelter in a small basement apartment where she lived until her death. Fortunately, her friends in the Saint Zita Association helped her during her final years.
Angela died in Krakow on March 12, 1922, and was beatified on August 13, 1991. Blessed Angela Salawa’s feast day is March 12.
