Maria Luiza Merkert

Maria Luiza Merkert - was born in 1817. The family fell into financial trouble after the death of their father. When her mother died, Maria and her sister sold their modest fortune and, together with Franciszka Werner and Klara Wolff, devoted themselves to helping the abandoned, sick and homeless in Nysa. Maria Merkert started organizing the Society of St. Elizabeth for the care of abandoned sick people. In 1859 she obtained diocesan approval for the association. The Bishop of Wrocław, Heinrich Förster, recognized the association as a church congregation, and a month later approved its statutes. In the same year, she was elected the first general superior of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth until her death. She built a motherhouse in Nysa, and under her leadership, 90 religious houses, 12 hospitals and many nursing homes were built.

She died on November 14, 1872. She was buried at the Jerusalem Cemetery in Nysa. The beatification process began in 1985. On September 30, 2007, the beatification ceremony was held in Nysa, chaired by the representative of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins. The beatification picture was painted by sister Felicyta Szewczyk. The date of November 14 was set as her holiday.