The Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas might no longer walk the halls of the Sisters of St. Casimir Motherhouse in Marquette Park, but her spirit is there. It’s in the chapel where she prayed, the bedroom where she slept and even the grounds where she took recreation. Mostly, it’s in her mission to serve people who need help, a mission carried on by the sisters who have succeeded her. Mother Maria, who established the Sisters of St. Casimir to serve Lithuanian immigrants in the United States in 1907, was declared “venerable” on July 1 by Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of her heroic virtues. Her sisters — including more than a score who remember her personally — are continuing to pray for her beatification, and, ultimately, her canonization. “The sisters held her in highest regard,” said Sister Margaret Petcavage, the vice postulator for Mother Maria’s sainthood cause. “She was a holy person. And it wasn’t just the sisters. When she died, one of the papers — I think it was the Chicago American — had a headline that ‘Chicago mourns its second Cabrini.’” Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, one of the founders of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was canonized in 1946, six years after Mother Maria died. Memories of mother She remembers the way the sisters and the novices would jockey for a place near her when they went outside for recreation, the way Mother Maria took an interest in every one, the way no one was afraid of her.Sister M. Paulissa Puisis, 94, entered the convent in 1929, and recalls Mother Maria from her time as an aspirant, postulant and novice. “When I was an aspirant, I’d see her on the stairs, and I’d say, ‘Mother, I’m 16 years old. When can I become a postulant?’” Sister Paulissa said. “She was always patient. She would just say, ‘The time will come soon.’ She understood people, and she had a way of communicating with you.” Sister Delphine Grigas, also 94, said, “There was always a serenity about her that made you sense that she was walking with God. She met with us and guided us and inspired us.” Process begins Prayers for her beatification began in 1943. After the Second Vatican Council, when religious congregations were urged to look to the charisms of their founders, the sisters started to look more closely at her life. They went into her closet, in the bedroom that was left as it was after she died, and found her belongings neatly boxed and labeled. There was her habit, and her cross, and her prayer books. And there was a notebook such as a first-grader might use, said Sister Regina Dubickas, the assistant general superior for the Sisters of St. Casimir — with wide lines and Charles Lindbergh on the front — that contained Mother Maria’s handwritten account of “How the Congregation Was Founded.” As the sisters began working on the cause more systematically, Sister Margaret asked for any letters from Mother Maria that people might have. More than 800 were turned over. “You don’t keep a letter unless it means something to you, or the person who sent it means something to you,” Sister Regina said. Sister Margaret said she was struck by the funny greeting cards that were included. “She was human, and she had a funny bone,” Sister Margaret said. “The cards she sent weren’t all saccharin and religious.” But she was a deeply religious person, said Sister M. Immacula Wendt, the superior general. Sisters reported seeing her praying in the chapel late at night, and that prayer life sustained her. It sustained her through an eight-year battle with cancer that started in her breast and metastasized to her bones. When she died, with the sisters praying around her, the pain was “etched on her face. She was ashen,” Sister Delphine said. “But she was serene.” Some 60 years later, when her body was exhumed for her sainthood cause, one of the pathologists pointed out a hole about the size of a quarter in her skull. The bone had been eaten away by cancer, Sister Margaret said. “The pain must have been unbearable,” she said. Today’s work During her lifetime, the Sisters of St. Casimir accepted girls from the community — Irish and Poles as well as Lithuanians — and started new efforts to serve people wherever they saw a need, including sending sisters to the missions of New Mexico. The Sisters of St. Casimir now sponsor Villa Joseph Marie High School in Holland, Pa., and Maria High School, and Holy Cross Hospital and the SSC Food Pantry in Chicago. Sisters of St. Casimir also minister at Our Lady of Vilna- St. Paul School and St. Clement School and the Archdiocesan Center for Inclusive Education at St. Bede School in Chicago, Holy Family Villa in Palos Park, and Lake Michigan Catholic Middle/High School in St. Joseph, Mich. Six sisters minister in Argentina. Another congregation of Sisters of St. Casimir founded in Lithuania in 1920 by Mother Maria continues to function independently. The sisters also are active in efforts to promote comprehensive immigration reform and work against predatory lending and street violence. The sisters will continue to pray for Mother Maria’s beatification and eventual canonization. All are invited to ask Mother Maria’s intercession, in hopes of miracles that can be attributed to her care. Mother Maria’s life at a glance Jan. 6, 1880: Casimira Kaupas born in Ramygala, Lithuania 1907: Establishment of Sisters of St. Casimir 1911: Motherhouse dedicated in Chicago; St. Casimir Academy opens 1928: Sisters of St. Casimir assume sponsorship of Holy Cross Hospital 1933: Mother Maria diagnosed with cancer April 17, 1940: Mother Maria dies at motherhouse 1943: Archbishop Samuel Stritch grants imprimatur for prayer for beatification of Mother Maria 1980: Cardinal John Cody receives permission to begin preparing materials for sainthood cause June 1986: Mother Maria named Servant of God March 1996: Mother Maria’s beatification cause introduced May 1999: Mother Maria’s body exhumed; remains placed in sarcophagus in motherhouse chapel 2000: Positio completed July 1, 2010: Mother Maria named venerable Source: Sisters of St. Casimir To learn more about Mother Maria, visit www.ssc2601.com. The sisters will celebrate Founder’s Day Aug. 28 with 9:30 a.m. Mass followed by food and raffles from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Motherhouse, 2601 W. Marquette Road.