Nun Cecylia Roszak laid to rest in Krakow; was honoured for saving Jewish children

Nun Cecylia Roszak, who was honoured for sheltering Jewish children during World War Two, was laid to rest in Krakow on Thursday after dying last week aged 110.

Roszak, who was believed to be one of the world's oldest nuns, hid the children at a convent near Vilnius, now in Lithuania, where she was based during the war, shielding them from the Nazi occupiers.

"She was like a mother to them, understanding, caring. And then the persecution of these children by the Germans started," Sister Stefania told Reuters TV at the Dominican convent in Krakow, Poland, holding a photograph of Sister Cecylia and two of the children.

"She hid them in the bales of grains in the barn where there were a few other nuns dressed as civilians and those children.

"She was taking care of them very warmly and she also took care of their education, not only the spiritual but also the intellectual education of these children."

Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust centre recognised Roszak as "righteous among the nations" in 1984, a designation granted by the State of Israel to honour those who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Roszak was born on March 25, 1908, in Poland and joined a convent in Krakow when she was 21, according to a website representing the Dominican Order in Poland.

"She was a person, who was very demanding with herself, but at the same time, she had a very open and merciful heart for the convent community, just like Mother Theresa of Calcutta," Sister Stefania said.