"And only one room was finished in the institute. It was small bedroom with small beds with bars and a small play room. And they brought us first ten kids from Skalica. There [In Skalica] were already other sisters. So from there we got first children. And then we had to sit them on potties, because we had to carry them through a hall that was not finished and the children could fall inside holes. And we only had this one little play room. And they brought us more children, so we had 28 of them, all crying, shouting, and we didn't have any instruments how to calm them down. We didn't have drugs, and we couldn't restrain the aggressive ones. No one helped us. Before that me and one more sister were sent to another Institute in Slatinany, where sisters were in charge, so we could see how to take care of this children, because they were idiots, imbeciles, difficult idiocies, and aggressive children among them."
"It was in the middle of my the study. So they have taken us, drove us out of the monastery, so we took only the bare essentials. Thus, in one case and one small bag I had something. Most needed. We had to go out and board a bus. Thus, such a civilian militia was there. One woman who had a daughter here, sent message to my mom to go, that we are already getting moved. So mom stood there, staring at me because I am her only child. A question "where?", Just like that, in her eyes. I indicated that I do not know. Even we did not know where you're taking us. So we went to Nove Zamky, they have concentrated us there. There have been a number of religious orders. The whole year we were there."
"So we had a job all the time. And we did everything - garden, central heating, cleaning up, sewing, cooking, all sisters. So they 24 years since we were with those children, they were unaware that there is any lack, as sister substituted sister. Always everything was fine. We got a flag here, that we are the best institute in Czechoslovakia. But we put the flag into the chamber, where we had also aids to teaching. And when he came, the new director and said, "You got a reward, you have somewhere the flag here." "Yes, we have it in the chamber." It must out! This must everyone see!" "We work for our Lord God, from the love of God we educate the children ". How many times they wanted to put us into civilian clothes. And always there was one girl, employed in the office, she always revealed everything. She was a communist, but she loved us. Especially one sister. She always said to us: "sisters you will go into civilian clothes, prepare your clothes." And overnight it always changed."
Receive everything from the hands of God. Try to stay in God’s presence.
Aquinata Ružena Nagyová
photo: archív Kanonisky sv. Augustía rehole Notre Dame
photo: archív Kanonisky sv. Augustía rehole Notre Dame
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Sister Aquinata Nagyová, was born as Ruzena Nagyova on 04.14 1928 in Bratislava. As a child witnessed the bombing of Bratislava and went to elementary school in Hainburg, Austria, since Petrzalka, where she lived and Bratislava had no bridge over Danube. In 1947 she entered the religious order of St. Augustine religious order Notre Dame in Bratislava. August 30, 1950 was forcibly taken away with the other sisters in the concentration monastery in Nove Zamky. There worked with other sisters in agricultural production. In October 1951, she was with other young sisters transported to the Czech Republic, where she worked in cotton industry. She worked for 10 years in difficult conditions. Since 1961 she worked in an institution for mentally handicapped children in Čížkovice. During the Prague Spring she returned to Slovakia, where she taught religion in Galanta and Bojna. In 1970 she had to come back to Čížkovice, where she worked until 1985. In this year she came to work in the charity house in Rúbani. Here she worked until 1993, when she returned to her first monastery in Bratislava, where she is until today. Despite age she is still devoted to translation of books in Hungarian and German.
