Kudzielicz, Maria (1924–2002)

Maria Kudzielicz, Adventist nursing pioneer and first director of the Adventist nursing school in Brazil, was born in 1924, in the city of Pinsk, Poland.¹ Her parents were Kauvizina and Nicolau Kudzielcz, a Polish couple that came to Brazil in 1927.² She graduated in the first nursing class of the São Paulo Clinic (now São Paulo Adventist Hospital) in 1945. Adventist nursing in Brazil began in 1942 when Doctor Galdino Nunes Vieira founded the São Paulo Clinic in the Liberdade District of São Paulo City. In 1943, Frida Trefz helped her open the nursing school under an agreement with the Brazilian Red Cross. Most classes were taught by doctors in the São Paulo Clinic.³

The students of the first class, who graduated in 1945, were Heloísa Waldvogel, Virgilina Maria Matos, Orsina de Carvallho, Vilma and Orlando Fabre, and Maria Kudzielicz. Except for the Fabre couple, the other students remained to work at the clinic. However, foreign students such as Maria couldn’t receive their diploma until the end of the Second World War.⁴ After graduating, Maria directed the nursing services at the clinic, being the first Brazilian nurse to hold the position at São Paulo Clinic.⁵ She remained in that position until 1965. In the meantime, in 1950, she completed postgraduate studies in hospital administration, and in 1960, she specialized in obstetrical nursing.⁶ She did both courses at the University of São Paulo (USP).⁷

In 1965, she was called to start an Adventist nursing school at Brazil College (now Central Adventist University of Sao Paulo),⁸ which would come to be the first Adventist course of higher education to be officially recognized in Brazil.⁹ Maria’s participation was decisive for the development of the new school and she knew they needed more teachers and also nursing monitors. In 1966, another teacher, Ana de Lucca, was hired and she, along with Maria, was sent to study education and applied nursing didactics, a postgraduate course at USP. With this, they could both teach during the first academic year.¹⁰

While Maria was doing postgraduate studies, and since she didn’t have experience, Professor Filomena Chiarelo Spera was called to head the Adventist nursing school for the first two years.¹¹ In 1968, entrance exams were started, but classes didn’t start until the following year. Because of limited Adventist teaching staff, classes were taught by professors from various religions such as Jewish and Catholic. Maria taught ethics classes, and she used to discuss with her students how to give spiritual assistance to patients from other denominations.¹²

In 1970, Maria became the director of the Adventist nursing school and remained in that position until 1977. In 1977, she participated in an international nursing congress in Tokyo with more than twelve thousand nurses in attendance. In addition, she was president of the Brazilian Nursing Association from 1976 to 1980. In the meantime, she continued serving in Adventist health work until 1979 when she found it necessary to retire due to health issues. Nonetheless, even after retiring, Maria continued serving in her profession, teaching courses for pregnant women.¹³

Between October 21 and November 1, 1992, she participated in a seminar organized by the South American Division Health Department in Serra Negra, São Paulo State. During the event, on a Friday, there was a tribute to the Adventist medical pioneer workers in Brazil.¹⁴ Maria passed away in 2002,¹⁵ after 35 years of service.¹⁶

Maria Kudzielicz made a great contribution to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the health area by leading the first nursing program of the Brazil Adventist church in 1965. Maria also contributed through the São Paulo Clinic hospital, the same one that she graduated from. She also was president of the Brazilian Nursing Association for four years. Throughout her 35 years of service to the Adventist Church, Maria cared about people and she formed a generation of nurses to serve the Church and other institutions.

Sources

“Katarina Kudzielicz,” Revista Adventista, July 1988.

“Memórias de uma Enfermeira,” Revista Adventista, May 1984.

Kuntze, Tânia Denise, “Faculdade Adventista de Enfermagem: Memória Histórica, 1968-1998.” Doctoral thesis, University of São Paulo, 2010.

Lemos, Francisco, “Capelães realizam primeiro seminário,” Revista Adventista, December 1992.

Notes

1. Tânia Denise Kuntze, “Faculdade Adventista de Enfermagem: Memória Histórica, 1968-1998” (doctoral thesis, University of São Paulo, 2010), 243; “Katarina Kudzielicz,” Revista Adventista, July 1988, 33.↩

2. “Kudzielicz,” Revista Adventista, 33.↩

3. Kuntze, 243; “Memórias de uma Enfermeira,” Revista Adventista, May 1984, 6.↩

4. Kuntze, 213.↩

5. Kuntze, 213.↩

6. “Memórias,” Revista Adventista, 6.↩

7. Kuntze, 213.↩

8. “Memórias,” Revista Adventista, 6.↩

9. Kuntze, 243.↩

10. Kuntze, 240.↩

11. Kuntze, 121, 122.↩

12. Kuntze, 244, 245; “Memórias,” Revista Adventista, 7.↩

13. “Memórias,” Revista Adventista, 7↩

14. Francisco Lemos, “Capelães realizam primeiro seminário,” Revista Adventista, December 1992, 18, 19.↩

15. Kuntze, 84.↩

16. Lemos, 18, 19.↩