Christian Mission and Poverty

196

Christian Mission and Poverty

M ary of P aris (1891–1945) Background Maria Skobtsova was a Russian Orthodox nun who ministered among the poor in Paris and died at the hands of the Nazis alongside Jewish prisoners at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. As a child and young woman, she was known as Liza. Before devoting her life to Christ, Liza professed atheism for a time, was involved in radical politics, and experienced two failed marriages and the death of a child. During these seasons and during the political turmoil of the Bolshevik Revolution, she was increasingly drawn to Jesus Christ. She studied theology, briefly served as a mayor, and was increasingly drawn to justice and social work on behalf of her neighbors. She never gave up her fervor for justice but rather understood it within Jesus’ call on her life. She and her family were forced to flee to Paris, where she began to see her vocation as caring for humanity and loving her neighbor. Liza began writing and moved to central Paris to be closer to intense human need. She began lecturing and engaged in charity work with immigrants and workers. The Russian Orthodox bishop in Paris took notice of Liza’s work and gave her permission to start a new form of monasticism, free of the convent and fully engaged in the world with the poor and downtrodden. Liza became a nun, taking the name Mary. Living in a vow of poverty and celibacy and with the support of the church, she opened a house that welcomed impoverished refugees and homeless folks. Over the years, it grew to include a chapel, housing for women, families and men, mental health care, hundreds of daily meals for the poor, care