Albertine Brothers facts for kids

The Albertine Brothers are a group of Catholic men who dedicate their lives to helping people in need. They are part of a larger Catholic family called the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. They are also known as the Servants of the Poor. A man named Albert Chmielowski started this group in 1888 in Kraków, Poland.

The Albertine Brothers: Helping Those in Need

How the Albertine Brothers Began

The founder of the Albertine Brothers was born Adam Chmielowski in 1845. He came from a noble Polish family. Adam became an orphan when he was young. He was expected to manage his family's lands and studied farming for this reason.

When he was a young student, Adam strongly supported Poland. He joined a big uprising in 1863, where he sadly lost a leg. Because of this, Adam had to leave Poland. He moved to Belgium to continue his studies. While there, he found out he was very good at art. He started to develop his painting skills. By 1874, when he returned to Poland, he was a talented painter. He became successful in Kraków.

When Adam came back to his home country, he was shocked by how much poverty he saw. He started helping at homeless shelters in the city. There, he met many of the poorest people. For the next ten years, he kept helping others. He also continued his art career, but he started painting more religious pictures.

By 1887, Adam Chmielowski decided to stop being a painter. 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. He began wearing the traditional gray clothes of the order. He took the name Brother Albert. He started living in the shelters where he helped. He gave all his time and energy to the poor people around him. He worked hard to give them hope.

Growing the Community

After a year of special training, called a novitiate, Brother Albert made his promises to God in 1888. At that time, he gathered other men who wanted to help people like he did. Together, they formed the Brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis, Servants of the Poor. Brother Albert taught each new Brother to see Jesus in every poor person they met.

The Brothers opened shelters to give warmth and a safe place to stay for the most vulnerable. They also set up soup kitchens to feed the hungry. They created nurseries and homes for children and young people who did not have families. In January 1891, a group of Albertine Sisters was also founded to help with this work. Both the Brothers and Sisters groups grew slowly, even after Brother Albert passed away in 1916. The Brothers officially became a religious congregation in 1928. They followed the rules of the Franciscan Third Order Regular.

By 1939, before World War II began, there were about 100 Brothers in a dozen homes. However, they faced great hardship during the Nazi occupation. Several of their homes were closed by the soldiers. Many Brothers were arrested and sent to special camps. A large number of them did not survive, including the leader of their group. The Brothers who did survive then faced challenges under the Communist government that took over Poland. The remaining homes were taken over and used for other purposes.

After Communism ended in Eastern Europe in 1989, the Brothers were free again. They could continue their work helping people in need. Many people needed help after the big changes in society. In 2010, the Brothers were working in six cities in Poland and one in Ukraine. They provide homes for homeless men, care for people with mental and physical disabilities, and community kitchens to feed the poor.