Congregation of the sisters of St. Casimir

The paper seeks to discuss the role of St. Casimir in the life of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Casimir. The Congregation, which was established in the United States in 1907 and in Lithuania in 1920, is the only one that took the Patron of Lithuania as its own patron. The chief aim of the Sisters of St. Casimir was to educate and teach children and to provide formation for the Catholic Lithuanian youth in the United States and Lithuania. Besides, the paper discusses how the idea of the Congregation's title came about. Mother Superior-General Marija (Kazimiera Kaupaitė) wished for the Congregation to be named by the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is conjectured that the name of the Congregation was suggested by Kaupaitė's brother, fr. Antanas Kaupas who was an active member of a society named after St. Casimir. The paper analyses the symbolism of the emblem of the Sisters of St. Casimir: the crown, the sword, and the lily, discussing their meanings that were imparted by bishop Shanahan during the first years of the Congregation's activities. The bishop gave the permission for the Lithuanian Congregation to settle in his diocese. From the very start, the Catholic spiritual personality of St. Casimir played an important role in the internal life and pedagogical activity of the Congregation. Piety to the Patron of Lithuania was promoted by the Sisters of St. Casimir in the schools established by them, especially in St. Casimir Academy in Chicago and St. Casimir Gymnasium that functioned in the first half of the 20th century in Kaunas. The 1933 letter by Mother Superior- General Marija, published as an appendix to the present paper, shows that in the life of the Congregation St. Casimir was venerated as a paragon of mercy, virtue, and sanctity, as well as the patron and intercessor for Catholicism in Lithuania