Cecylia Plater-Zyberk, Plater coat of arms, (born 8 May 1853 in Pass, Poland - died 6 January 1920 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

) was a social activist, educationalist, publicist and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

. She founded several schools and charitable societies.

Life

Cecylia Plater-Zyberk was the daughter and eighth child of Count Kazimierz Plater-Zyberk and Ludwika, née Borewicz. On her father's side she was descended from two illustrious German families: the Plater von Broëls from

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

and the Syberg zu Wischling clan originally from the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

, who arrived in

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

with the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. After home-schooling on the family estate, "Schlossberg" in Courland, she attended the Sacred Heart school in Posen. During 1879-1880 she attended a craft school in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. On her return, she settled in Warsaw where she qualified as a

master tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

.Grela Joanna. (2014) "Cecylia Plater Zyberkówna," ''Przegląd Piaseczyński'' (local journal) https://www.przegladpiaseczynski.pl/historia/cecylia-plater-zyberkowna/ In 1880 she entered the convent of the ''Messengers of Mother Mary'' in Warsaw - a

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

that did not use the

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

. For a number of years she was the superior of the Warsaw house. In 1883 Plater-Zyberk founded a craft school for girls followed in 1886 by a girls' secondary school. In 1917 it achieved full recognition by the Education Authority. It was revived in 1993 as a private secondary girls school named after Cecylia Plater-Zyberk. Her second foundation was in Chyliczki in 1891, this time an agricultural school, also intended for girls. It became the Chyliczki agricultural High school. After the

Second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and Poland's return to full independence, the school is now called the "Cecylia Plater-Zyberk Centre for Continuing Rural Education". In addition she put on courses on education and book-keeping.

Social activism

With Kazimiera Proczek she founded the Polish Catholic Women's Association in 1904, of which she was president for two years. She was also a co-founder of the ''Society of Women Landowners''. She set up with bishop Jerzy Matulewicz, the ''Friends of Young People'' aimed at working with young men. Her other charitable endeavours were centred on aiding children and youth. Cecylia Plater-Zyberk died in 1920 and was buried in the family vault in

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...

Publications

She was the author of 35 books and pamphlets as well as many articles. She usually wrote under one of several pseudonyms - ''CPZ'', ''Father Boguslaw'', ''Heather'' or ''Ciccada''. Her subject matter ranged between

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

and social and religious themes, including the place of women in society. She is regarded as a precursor of

Liberal Catholicism Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church. It was influential in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, especially in France. It is largely identified with French political theorists such as Felicité ...

Works in Polish

* The idea and aims of relationships - ''Istota i cele związków'' * Living as a Catholic - ''Życie katolickie'' * About faith and religiosity - ''O pobożności prawdziwej i fałszywej'' 1899 * A few thoughts about child-rearing - ''Kilka mysli o wychowaniu'' 1903 * Woman as Hearth: From chats with the Chyliczki pupils: by a reborn woman: rebirth - ''Kobieta - ogniskiem : z pogadanek do uczennic Chyliczkowskich : przez odrodzoną kobietę - odrodzenie'' 1909 * What is our main national vice? -''Jaka jest nasza wada narodowa główna?'' * On the need to reform Girls' High schools - ''O potrzebie reformy szkoły średniej dla dziewcząt'' 1917 * On the point of marriage - ''Na progu małżeństwa''

References

External links

* http://poslanniczki.blogspot.com/2012/11/cecylia-plater-zyberk-jej-idea-kobiety.html (Pol.) Article about the female spirituality of Plater-Zyberk 1853 births 1920 deaths Cecylia Nobility from Warsaw Polish tailors Polish educational theorists 20th-century Polish women writers Polish Roman Catholics Polish people of German descent Nuns from Warsaw Russian nuns 19th-century Polish Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century Polish nobility {{Poland-noble-stub