Maria Kaupas

Who is Maria Kaupas?

The Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas, S.S.C., was an American Catholic Religious Sister who founded the Sisters of Saint Casimir.

She was born Casimira Kaupas in Ramygala, Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. At the age of 17 she emigrated to the United States, where she settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to work as a housekeeper for her brother, the Reverend Anthony Kaupas, who was pastor of St. Joseph Parish there. While there she had her first contact with Religious Sisters and was attracted by their way of life. She also became aware of the struggle her countrymen had in the United States due to the language barrier, especially in their spiritual life.

Overcome by homesickness, Kaupas returned to Lithuania in 1901, but she kept seeking to determine where her call in life was. She soon resolved to become a teaching Sister, especially committed to the care of the Lithuanian immigrants in America.

Kaupas' brother soon informed her that the Lithuanian clergy in the United States were seeking to establish a new community of Religious Sisters dedicated to teaching the youth of their community in a religious setting, and to preserve their native language and customs.