Just hours before the forty-fifth anniversary of her death, the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska will become the first lay registered nurse and the first Benedictine oblate since the Middle Ages to be declared Blessed.

The beatification will take place in the Polish city of Krakow, at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, and marks the latest stage in the recognition of the grace-filled life of a talented and highly intelligent woman, full of zest for life and with a legendary sense of humour.

Today’s ceremony in Krakow is also a triumph for her many friends, colleagues, former students – and patients – who initiated the process of canonisation.