A Holy Cross Sister arrested, tortured and martyred during the communist rule of what is now Slovakia could be canonized if the Vatican approves an alleged miracle in Denver.
Blessed Zdenka Schelingová is one of three Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross who have been beatified, according to Sr. Pat Cormack, provincial of the USA Province.
Born in 1916 in Kriva, Blessed Zdenka entered the convent at age 15. She became a nurse who sedated a guard to help one of her patients, a priest, escape sentencing and death.
After trying to help a group of priests and seminarians escape prison, she was arrested, tortured and imprisoned on a charge of high treason.
She was released three years later, in 1955, in a terminally ill state and died at the age of 38. Her full story is on the Holy Cross Sisters USA Province website, www.holycrosssisters.org/1.cfm.
According to a story by Nissa LaPoint in the March 4 issue of the Denver Catholic Register, a sealed box containing evidence of a miracle credited to Blessed Zdenka was being conveyed to the Vatican for review.
The other two beatified Holy Cross Sisters are Blessed Mary Theresa, co-founder of the order, and Blessed Ulrika of Hegne, a German nun remembered for her simplicity and piety. All three women are honored in the Bell Tower Residence chapel.
