Teresa di Gesù (Marchocka)

Marianna Marchocka was born on 25 June 1603 in Stroze (Poland), the second of three children of Paul and Elizabeth Marchockiego of Modrzejewskich.

Despite the opposition of her parents, under the influence of meetings with Peter Kordońskim and reading the biography of Teresa of Avila, on April 26, 1620, Marianna Marchocka entered the Carmelite monastery of St. Martin in Kraków. She took the name Teresa of Jesus in honour of St. Teresa of Avila.

In 1637 she was appointed prioress. She was mistress of novices from 1630 to 1639.

In 1642 she moved to Lviv, to found a new monastery of the Order. She was the first prioress and mistress of the Lviv monastery.

In 1648, because of the Khmelnytsky Uprising, the Carmelite nuns had to flee to Kraków and later moved to Warsaw. In Warsaw she was also appointed prioress. In 1650 Teresa’s health began to deteriorate, leaving her suffering from partial paralysis. In January 1652, after years as prioress, she gave up this office.

She died on 19^th of April 1652.

The diocesan process into her «life, virtue and reputation for holiness» ended on April 24, 2015 in the Archdiocese of Krakow. On 18^th of November 2016, the decree of validity was granted.