Our Lady, Star of the Sea as patroness of saint Ursula Ledóchowska in Finland (1908-1914)

Bibliogr. s. 486-490. Redaktorka podpisana: Barbara Marczuk.

Ursula Ledóchowska (1865‒1939), a Polish nun and Catholic saint, was deeply devoted to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Saint Ursula’s Marian devotion had a particular purport during her stay in Finland (1908‒1914), in a house by the sea, that she bought for schoolchildren and her religious sisters. She named it “Merentähti” (“Star of the Sea” in Finnish). She also placed there a statue of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. The article consists of two parts. First we present a short account from saint Ursula’s stay in Finland and her work in Merentähti, highlighting her veneration of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Next, we present a Finnish translation of the Latin hymn “Ave Maris Stella” (Hail, Star of the Sea), one of the oldest and most popular Catholic hymns to Mary Mother of God. The translation was made probably by saint Ursula and Monsignore Adolf Carling (1882‒1966), the first Catholic Finnish-speaking priest in Finland since the Reformation (his knowledge of Polish was also very high thanks to his contacts with Polish Catholics). In comparison to the Latin original, their Finnish translation of the hymn is not only very faithful, but also it reflects its syllabic structure, and probably it could be sung on the same melodies.