Adam Chmielowski was born in Poland in 1845 and lost a leg as a young man fighting in an uprising for his country's freedom. A gifted painter, he gradually set aside his art to live among the homeless of Kraków, taking the name Brother Albert and founding the Albertine Brothers and Sisters to shelter and feed the poor. He died in 1916 and was canonized by Saint John Paul II, who deeply admired him, in 1989.
Brother Albert teaches that no talent or comfort is worth more than love shown to a suffering person; he chose to be, as he said, good like bread that anyone may take and eat. His gentleness toward the poorest reminds us that every act of quiet kindness, done in grief or in health, is a way of meeting Christ.
Saint Albert, who gave everything to warm and feed the forgotten, help us to be good like bread for those who hurt, and keep our loved ones close to the heart of Jesus. Amen.Enter today’s Mass → All saints →