Albertine Brothers facts for kids

The Albertine Brothers are a Catholic group of Religious Brothers. They are part of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. They are also known as the Servants of the Poor. This group was started in 1888 by Albert Chmielowski in Kraków, Poland.

History

Founding the Brothers

The founder, Adam Chmielowski (1845-1916), came from a well-known Polish family. He lost his parents when he was young. He was expected to manage his family's lands and studied farming for this reason.

However, Adam was a strong Polish patriot. He joined the January Uprising in 1863. This was a fight for Poland's freedom. During this time, he lost one of his legs.

Adam had to leave Poland because the Russian government was very harsh. He moved to Belgium to keep studying. There, he found out he was good at art. He started to become a skilled painter. By 1874, he returned to Poland. He became a successful artist in Kraków.

When he came back, Adam was shocked by how much poverty he saw. He started helping at homeless shelters in the city. This way, he met many very poor people. For the next ten years, he kept helping. He also continued his art career. But he started painting more religious pictures.

By 1887, Adam decided to stop being an artist. He wanted to live among the poor and needy. He chose to live like a beggar. On August 25 of that year, he joined the Third Order of St. Francis. This was a special day, the feast of King Louis IX of France, their patron saint. Adam began wearing the traditional gray clothes of the order. He took the name Brother Albert. He moved into the shelters where he had been helping. He gave his whole life to serving the poor. He worked to give them hope.

Growing the Group

After a year of training, called a novitiate, Brother Albert made his special promises, known as religious vows. This was on the same feast day in 1888. He gathered other men who wanted to help the poor like him. Together, they started the Brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis, Servants of the Poor. Brother Albert taught them to see Jesus in every poor person they met.

The Brothers set up shelters to give warmth and a place to stay. They also opened soup kitchens for hungry people. They created nurseries and homes for children and young people who had no place to live. In January 1891, a group of Albertine Sisters also started helping. Both groups grew slowly, even after Brother Albert died in 1916. The Brothers officially became a religious congregation in 1928. They followed the Rule of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. They also had their own specific rules, called Constitutions.

By 1939, when World War II began, there were about 100 Brothers in a dozen homes. But they faced great hardship during the German occupation. Many of their homes were closed. Many Brothers were arrested and sent to special camps. A large number of them did not survive. This included the main leader of the group, the Superior General.

Those Brothers who survived then faced difficulties under the new government. The remaining homes were taken over. They were used for services the Brothers were not trained for, like caring for people with severe mental illness.

When the Communist governments fell in Eastern Europe in 1989, the Brothers were free again. They could continue their work helping the needy. More people needed help after the big changes in society. In 2010, the Brothers worked in six cities in Poland and one in Ukraine. They provide homes for homeless men. They also run homes for people with mental and physical disabilities. And they have community kitchens to feed the poor.