Upon Lena's passing, I was honored to receive her old family Bible written in Polish. At least I initially thought it was a Bible! Turns out, after doing some Google translating, it is a book of Roman Catholic Saints. For every single day of the year, it contains a story of the patron Saint(s) for that day. I'm sure it is fascinating reading - just wish I could read it! It also contains some beautiful color drawings of selected Saints. I believe this edition was published in 1895, and it was most likely handed down to Lena from her parents, Mike and Rosa. It could very well have been a wedding gift to Mike and Rosa, who were married in 1896. One can imagine the family gathered around on each family member's birthday and reading about that day's patron Saint.

There are some hand-written notes (in Polish, of course!) on the flyleaf at the beginning of the book. I believe it was likely written by Rosa, though I have no way to confirm that. The inscription memorializes the deaths of Rosa's father (John Lewandowski), mother (Anna Lewandowski), and infant son (Jozef Jankowski). Below is an image of the book and the inside inscription with my attempt at translation. I was unable to translate the middle paragraph, which appears to be a prayer. Click on a picture to view a full-size version in a new window.

1895 Bible	Bible Inscription with translation

Below are some representative pages from the book and my best ability at translating! Click on each picture for a full-size version in a new window.

Cover Page "The Lives of the Saints of the Lord"	Title Page translated	Copyright Page Church license issued in 1894 and 1895

St. Paul	December 11 - Lena's birthday "The life of the blessed Mary, hand maid"	St. Margaret