Rozalia Celak, a mystic with a very special mission

Rozalia Celak, declared venerable by Pope Francis on 9 April 2022, was born in Poland in the early years of the 20th century. From an early age, she experienced mystical phenomena such as visions and words from the Virgin Mary and Jesus. She was miraculously cured at the age of sixteen, before going through a long night of faith, which did not, however, distance her from God. Her desire to help others led her to work as a nursing assistant, before she decided to enter a convent. However, she was obliged to return to caring for the sick, an exhausting work that she did for the rest of her short life. Through Rozalia, Jesus asked to be enthroned as King of Poland, but this was not granted until sixty years after Rozalia's death. She died in September 1944, after receiving terrible visions of the consequences of the war.

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Les raisons d'y croire :

Rozalia was graced with heavenly messages and visions from childhood. She had no doubt that it was Jesus and Mary who were speaking or appearing to her. Later, she was examined by doctors and neurologists, who found nothing pathological in her: she was perfectly sane.

At the age of sixteen, Rozalia fell seriously ill and had to remain in bed. The doctors were unable to identify her or give her any relief. However, to everyone's surprise, she was miraculously cured after a novena to the Virgin Mary.

Despite a night of faith that lasted six years, Rozalia never lost her faith and was certain all her life that Jesus was by her side in her trials.

Her greatest desire was to escape the hell of the hospital, where all she heard was blasphemy, and enter a convent. However, this was not God's wish, as he let her know, and illness forced her to leave the convent of Poor Clares she had joined a few months earlier.

Rozalia asked the country's leader to enthrone Jesus as King of Poland, following a request from Jesus himself. The task proved extremely difficult, as the authorities did not hear Rozalia's request. If she had a little imagination, she probably wouldn't have come up with such an almost impossible request. In fact, the request was not granted during Rozalia's lifetime, but was finally taken into account sixty years after her death. Such a request could not succeed after such a long time without the help of a supernatural force.

The visions of the world's future Rozalia received were sadly confirmed by the tragic reality of the Second World War.

Synthèse :

Rozalia Celak was born in September 1901 in Poland. She was the eldest of eight children from a very pious family and received a solid religious education. From an early age, she felt drawn to the mystical life. It was while she was preparing for the sacrament of First Communion that she heard Jesus speak to her for the first time: "My child, love me as my heart first loved you; love me for the whole world." From then on, Jesus and Mary gradually became the centre of her universe.

Her first trials came when she was sixteen. She was suddenly stricken with a serious illness that could not be diagnosed. She was bedridden for a month and the doctors were baffled. She turned to the Virgin Mary and recited a novena for her; to everyone's surprise, she was miraculously cured. She realised that suffering can lead to holiness, and that even greater spiritual suffering lay ahead for her.

At the age of nineteen, she entered into a terrible night of faith that would last six long years. She recalled that the suffering of that night was "a thousand times worse than death itself": "While my soul was constantly tormented, I gradually lost sight of Our Lord. I was plunged into a darkness so deep that the human mind becomes totally powerless [...]. Every hour it seemed that I was falling down the infernal precipice."During the last year, her visions of hell were atrocious and she experienced abominable physical pain, all the while hearing the devil taunting her. One day, she fainted and found herself going from hell to heaven. After that, the Lord never left her side.

In 1924, Rozalia moved to Krakow and worked in a hospital dermatology department, where she rubbed shoulders with prostitutes who blasphemed and slandered all the time. She was appalled by this "hell on earth" and decided to leave the hospital to join the Poor Clares. But as soon as she entered, she was warned that this place "is not for her". In the months that followed, she was forced to leave because her health had seriously deteriorated. She returned to the hospital's venereal disease department as a warder. She later passed her nursing exam.

Little by little, she made progress in her spiritual life and was graced with mystical visions. Her confessor advised her to write down her visions and Christ's requests.

Beginning in 1930, through Rozalia, the Lord asked to be enthroned as King of Poland: "If Poland wants to be saved, she must proclaim Jesus as her King by the act of enthronement. This must be done by the whole nation, and in particular by the State and Church authorities, who must conduct the ceremony in the name of the nation." She spoke to her confessor about this request. Although he and his superiors readily accepted, guided by the Virgin, the mission proved to be very difficult. The higher ecclesiastical authorities had her examined by a doctor and then a neurologist. Nothing suspicious was found.

In March 1938, Rozalia had visions of the approaching war, and the Lord assured her that Poland would be spared if she consecrated him King. Rozalia was deeply distressed by the situation, which was making no progress, and she mortified herself by accepting the most thankless tasks. In the months that followed, she had a vision of the Earth, and a voice explained to her that "the punishment will be terrible for the sins and crimes committed by people all over the world", and that "the enthronement must take place in Poland." Then the globe of the Earth cracked and was invaded by thick lava. The voice explained that the war would ravage everything, that this was not the end of the world but the price to be paid for the sins and hatred of the world.

Efforts to celebrate the enthronement of Jesus as King of Poland failed before the outbreak of the Second World War. Poland and many other countries were ruined and devastated. During the war, when Rozalia was worried about the fate of Poland, Jesus said to her: "Is God's time the same as the time seen by men? Am I not preparing human hearts for the solemn moment of enthronement? Do you think that my promise cannot be fulfilled?"

Rozalia died gradually, weakened by hard work, illness and grief, as her call continued to be ignored. She died on 13 September 1944. Many of the faithful attended her funeral.

Jesus was finally enthroned King of Poland in 2016 at a major celebration attended by the political authorities, numerous members of the faithful and members of the clergy.

Rozalia's beatification process began in 1996. Pope Francis declared her venerable in 2022.

Camille Mino di Ca is a Catholic convert who is passionate about conversion stories and the lives of saints. She writes for Hozana and other media, in a variety of forms, including biography, drama, poetry and song.