Helena Cierpka, known in religious life as Maria Gwido, was a Polish nun of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Born in Kalisz in 1900, she later joined her religious community in Grodno before being transferred to a monastery in the Navahrudak District. During the mass repressions in 1943, she and her fellow sisters offered themselves to the German occupying forces in place of local civilians. She was executed in a forest near Navahrudak on August 1, 1943.
Life and death
After entering her congregation in 1927, Helena took her final vows in Grodno. By 1936, she had moved to the Navahrudak area, where she worked in the monastery gardens. Her life ended during the wartime repressions of 1943, when she was arrested alongside other nuns and subsequently shot by occupation forces.
Veneration
She is recognized as one of the eleven martyrs of Navahrudak. The Catholic Church honors her memory, and she was declared blessed by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000. Her feast day is observed on August 1 or September 4.