EN
When reflecting on the development of catholic school system in Poland in the modern period, one should mention the person of a reformer of monastic life, the abbess of the Benedictine Convent in Chełmno (Culm), the superioress of Polish Benedictine Sisters, Magdalena Mortęska (1554-1631). The vision and the way of renewal of monastic life practised by abbess Magdalena were based not only on the return to the rigorous Benedictine observance, but also on the obligatory education of nuns. It is in the fulfillment of this postulate, which was characteristic for the post-Tridentine period of the Church, that we touch on the de-velopment of catholic education. The involvement of abbess Mortęska in the devel-opment of school system is discussed in the article on two levels: the foundation of convent schools for girls and her involvement in founding other schools beside con-vent ones. It can be assumed that the nuns managed a girls’ school in each Benedictine foun-dation. The living area for girls (dormitory) was separated from the convent area. The students had a separate chapel and a recreational area, for example a garden. The girls were customarily taken care of by an appointed nun, sometimes more than one if need arose. The number of students varied from a few in small convents to forty and more in convents functioning in big cities such as Poznań or Wilno (Vilnius). Abbess Mortęska contributed to the formation of a few schools outside the convent walls, such as the Jesuit college in Toruń (1596), the theological seminary in Poznań (1616) and the theological seminary in Toruń (1618). All the schools followed the abbess’ broadly understood vision of the renewal of religious and convent life. Finally let us quote the words of professor Karol Górski, who summed up his article about the role of Magdalena Mortęska in the Tridentine reform in Poland in the following way: It can be said that in the same way as the Jesuits enabled the triumph of the Tridentine reform in Poland through the education of male youth, the Benedic-tine Sisters accomplished the same in the field of the education of women.