Category Archives: Biographical

Biographical, Roman Catholic

Feast of Saint Benedict

Upon entering the Nazareth Novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Blessed Miriam Teresa’s spiritual director was a Benedictine Father. He described her obedience to him as “heroic.” It was him who instructed her to write the “series of instructions” that continued the conferences he gave to the Sisters. She was not instructed on what topics to write.

These instructions were not, at the time, credited as written by BMT. According to her biography An American Teresa, “The sisters noted the change in style,” (as opposed to Father’s style) “and remarked the difference.” On the day of BMT’s funeral, the spiritual director posted a note “The conferences which I have been giving to the Sisters were written by Sister Miriam Teresa.”

Those writings were posthumously compiled into the book Greater Perfection by BMT’s brother Monsignor Demjanovich, published first in November 1928.

Happy Feast of St Benedict 2026. Saint Benedict and BMT’s Benedictine spiritual director Father Benedict Bradley, pray to God for us

You can listen to an audiobook of Greater Perfection here, and can also listen to it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Biographical

The Demjanovich family’s home in Austria-Hungary

Before the Demjanovich family moved to NYC in May 1884 – and soon after to Bayonne, New Jersey USA, they lived in Barjedov (which, in her official biography is mentioned in the town’s German name “Bartfelt,” and is misspelled also in the book as “Baridov”,) a town in what was at the time Austria-Hungary, now Slovakia. That town is located in northeastern Slovakia, near the border with Poland.

The yellow marking is the location of the Demjanovich family’s original European home.

I learned today that this town is a UNESCO Heritage site, and there is a whole page about it on the UNESCO website.
+ jp

Biographical, Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

“Teresa”?

Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich was born “Teresa Demjanovich” in Bayonne, NJ USA on March 26, 1901. I always wondered how her birth name, Teresa, connected to Miriam Teresa, the name she took when she was received into the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity.

Her biography, An American Teresa, explains exactly:

Miriam was chosen for Mary, the Mother of God. The book specifically says: “Miriam was for Mary, her Beloved’s Mother.”

Teresa was chosen for two reasons: her devotion to Saint Teresa of Avila, and for Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Her birth name, also Teresa, was chosen by her parents after BMT’s Uncle’s wife (aka Aunt) who was baptized “Teresa” and was BMT’s godmother.

BMT “felt from an early age” that Saint Teresa of Avila had “taken [BMT] to herself.”

Another super interesting thing: BMT took those names on May 17, 1925, the same day of the Little Flower’s canonization as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. BMT was particularly happy that day because her brother Father Charles Demajonvich got to serve the Community Mass and BMT got to serve that mass in her capacity as a religious.

I just found that to be a fun bit of BMT trivia.
+ jp

Biographical, Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

Published Poem by Teresa Demjanovich.

Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich had a poem published in The Poets of the future, a college anthology for 1921-22. The full book scan is available thanks to The University of California’s library.

This is the full text scanned straight from the printed version of the book! As a librarian myself, I want to thank University of California’s library for making this available.
Biographical, Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

Our Blessed Mother appeared to Blessed Miriam Teresa in 1919

In BMT’s biography “An American Teresa,” there is a quote: “Last night I was saying my Rosary here at the window seat when suddenly the grounds outside appeared bathed in a dazzling light and the Blessed Mother was clearly seen by me. The vision lasted several minutes after which the grounds gradually returned to their normal appearance.”

Later BMT said the beauty and sweetness of it all stayed in her mind continually. This happened around her Freshman year 1919 at St Elizabeth College.

BMT went on to become a Sister of Charity of St Elizabeth, the religious order that ran the college and where her bodily remains are now housed. BMT always had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother, with whom she was well acquainted as “The Most Holy Theotokos” due to her Byzantine Catholic upbringing. In fact according to her biography, BMT’s initial desire was to join the Carmelite Order of Sisters, whose devotion is specially ordered towards Our Blessed Mother. According to her biography, she wanted “to follow in the footsteps of the Little Flower and enter Carmel.”

I also particularly love the connections between