I, Sister Joann Nakamura Chiyono, come from Sannmi, Hagi City, Yamaguchi. Sannmi is a farming and fishing town with a beautiful landscape that includes both mountains and the sea. Now my 86-year-old sister lives there on her own.
I was born in 1942, in the middle of the Second World War, but I don’t remember any painful and sad feelings. My father was killed in the war at the age of 31. If there hadn’t been a war, I would have led a life with my parents and grandparents, as any family would have done. The dark feeling of not being able to experience these things will always remain in my heart.
Even now, there is still war here and there in the world. The daily newspapers report heavy damage in many cities, and I can only pray that a day of peace and calm will come soon.
While I was in high school, for three years, I attended a school run by the Sisters. I saw the education and dedication the sisters had for their students.
After graduation, I attended a tailoring school in Hagi for two years and worked as an office assistant for my relative’s cab company in Tokyo. I then worked at Kobe Boys’ Town Nursing Home, which was founded by a priest, and was baptized under the guidance of the priest I worked with. My baptismal name was Joan of Arc, after St. Joan of Arc. I was filled with gratitude.
Knowing that further education would be necessary for my future, I obtained a qualification as a nanny with great difficulty and worked for two years in the Don Bosco kindergarten run by the Congregation of the Caritas Sisters of Jesus. After some time, my friend introduced me to our congregation; I visited them and attended the vocation meeting. At that time there was an age limit and I was 31 years old, so I believe I was given permission to enter quickly. I believe that meeting the Sisters in high school, my admiration for them and their sincere prayers led me to religious life.
My family’s religion is Buddhism. I am the only Catholic. I entered the Congregation on February 2, 1972 and took my first vows on September 1, 1974 and my perpetual vows on October 1, 1979. This year – in 2024 – I will celebrate the 50th anniversary of my profession (Golden Jubilee).
After joining our community, my apostolate was sewing vestments and helping with the laundry. For 18 years, I worked as a nanny in the Easter Village for Children with Special Needs (transferred to Saitama Diocese in 1999), helped with disinfection in the central material room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Himeji, helped with bathing and at the reception in Maria Villa. I have now been responsible for the chapel at St. Mary’s Hospital for 7 years.
I have very fond memories of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Assisi as well as the visit to the Generalate in Germany on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of my vows. The Generalate was large, beautiful and quiet, and I was impressed by the Sisters in prayer. I still miss the warm hearts of the sisters with their kindness and smiles.
August 22, 2024. The entire team of the International General Administration of the Hospital Sisters is delighted that the new website of the Generalate has gone online today. “Going online is the successful conclusion of a long and intensive internal process,” explain Superior General Sister M. Margarete Ulager and the Sisters of the multicultural General Council. “Our website should express what we are all about in the best possible way – through its structure, content and design. A relaunch is the perfect occation to discuss some fundamental questions again, and reassure where we stand.”
Central to the discussion: How can the valuable global heritage, the history and the vibrant present and future of the international Congregation be communicated in today’s social context? Which internal and external target groups do we want to address with our website? What are our messages? And how can these messages be conveyed not only linguistically, but also through the website’s structure and visual design? Another important aspect was the role of the Generalate website as a central point of contact for all international locations, providing information and facilitating networking – a role of particular importance with regard to the upcoming General Chapter.
In response to all these questions and requirements, not only was the navigation of the website redesigned, but the logo of the Generalate was also carefully updated and a fresh, lively green was chosen as the new basic color. In addition, the photos have been given an individual curve, with the form developed from the shape of the Tau. These new design elements will now be gradually implemented in the Generalate’s overall communication and will already be visible in the General Chapter.
Users of the previous website will also find the familiar content on the new site, but in a different structure. “The technical requirements have changed radically in recent years, as have people’s information behavior and viewing habits, as well as the topics that are discussed in society,” explains Claudia Berghorn, Director of Communications at the Generalate. “That’s why our new website offers quick orientation for those who are looking for brief answers, and more comprehensive information for those who want to delve deeper into the content.”
Regarding the content, it was particularly important to Ms Berghorn to pay tribute to the great achievements of the Sisters and to highlight the international importance of the congregation. “When I started working in the Generalate two years ago, I had no idea how many strong women live in the congregation, what these women have built up and what they are still achieving today, wherever they are in the world,” she explains. “I have since been lucky enough to get to know many of these women better, including Sisters from the international locations, and I am impressed by the courage, great commitment and strong trust in God that I encounter in the sisters’ personal and professional decisions, and in their life’s work.” Another central concern was to make the structure and the tasks of the international congregation and the Generalate understandable to external target groups who have had no previous contact with the religious world. The language is therefore kept simple, and ecclesiastical terms are explained.
The content and graphic design of the website were developed in several coordination phases with the entire team of the General Administration. To implement the website, the Generalate worked with a network of specialists under the direction of Claudia Berghorn.
The website implementation team with employees from the Generalate and external specialists
The design was developed by Christian Lueck (www.die-sehleute.de). The qualified graphic designer studied in Münster, Paderborn and Nuremberg and lived in southern Germany for a long time; his collaboration with the Nuremberg inner-city churches, whose magazine “Mittendrin” he developed and still designs today, dates back to this time. Mr. Lueck currently lives in Siegen and works as a freelancer for Deutsche Welle in Bonn. The photographs were taken by Michael Kestin (www.michael-kestin.com) from Muenster, who is already known to many of the Sisters and some visitors through various projects, including the “Zeitzeuginnen”-Films and the media coverage of numerous events, from jubilee celebrations to the visit of HSHS pilgrims from America. The expert programming was carried out by Marko Kuzman(www.pixelplantage.com) in Erlangen, who is known to Mr. Lueck and Ms. Berghorn from previous joint projects. The development process was closely monitored and supported by the Generalate team’s IT specialist. It is remarkable that the cooperation of all those involved worked wonderfully well without the implementation team ever meeting in person – the only time everyone was present at the same time was at a Zoom meeting.
Team work in the Generalate: Graphic designer Christian Lueck with Claudia Berghorn in the refectory of the Motherhouse
Claudia Berghorn is also very grateful for the support of Brian Blasco, Director of Communications and Archivist at the U.S. Canonical House, with the translation into English, and all the Sisters at the Motherhouse in Münster who provided answers to historical questions and were able to contribute photos, especially Sister M. Dietmara and Sister M. Manuela.
“Many people are involved in the development of a website over a long period of time,” summarizes Sister M. Margarete. “We would like to thank all of them, internal and external contributors, near and far!” The Generalate team is delighted with the new website and is looking forward to the feedback from the Sisters from all over the world. In principle, however, a website is never really ‘finished’, but remains dynamic, as there are always updates and additions. After the General Chapter, Claudia Berghorn and the communications team in the Generalate will devote themselves to the major task of transferring to the new site all the moving vocation stories of the international Sisters which were collected on the old website.
Born: August 7, 1938 Entrance: October 7, 1964 Professed: May 1, 1967 Died: July 7, 2024
From the Provincialate of the German Province, we received the following death message: “After patiently enduring a serious illness, the good and merciful God called to Himself our dear”
Thus, says the Lord: “He who believes in me will live.”
John 11:25
Sister M. Honorina was born in Mesum near Rheine as the third youngest of twelve children. Her father died at the age of 53, and God called five of her siblings to Himself at a young age. After leaving school, Hedwig worked as a seamstress in Neuenkirchen and trained in first aid with the Red Cross. She wanted to help people. This is probably why she decided to become a Sister and a nurse with our Hospital Sisters.
She managed the intensive care unit in Lingen for ten years and then worked in Vreden for 25 years, first in the men’s internal ward and later in foot care. She looked after the chapel and became the Convent Superior in the last few years. She then took care of the chapel in Maria Frieden rehabilitation clinic in Telgte and came to Seppenrade and later came to St. Heriburg-Haus as a senior citizen in 2018, where she gave her life back into the hands of God.
Sister M. Honorina suffered a serious traffic accident before she joined. The fact that she survived this can be attributed to God’s protection. She was always very grateful to him for this. The last years of her life were marked by many serious illnesses, which she fought through bravely time and again. She never lost the joy of life and the desire to stay a little longer. As soon as she was feeling a little better, she began to let her creative skills run free. She would make games out of simple materials. The nursing staff learned a great deal from her. As she continued to suffer, she was sustained by the deep faith she had inherited from her family and which never left her.
We gratefully bid farewell to Sister M. Honorina. We remember her in prayer and in the celebration of the Eucharist and remain united to her as Sisters.
On Thursday, July 11, 2024, we will say goodbye to Sister M. Honorina at 2.00 p.m. in the Motherhouse Church and then accompany her to her final resting place in the Sisters’ Cemetery. Afterwards, we can share our memories of her over coffee in the Motherhouse.
Sister M. Faustiniana Baron tells the story of her family, which was blessed by God with rich religious vocations in several generations, and of her own vocation. “The first of our Baron family to enter the Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis was my mother’s sister, Maria Kula, who received the name Sister Wilborada on October 28, 1913 in Muenster and served the sick in the hospital in Opole for many years. She died on March 26, 1945 in Proskau near Opole. My cousin, Sister M. Gismunda Langner, who also joined our congregation, followed in her aunt’s footsteps and served as a Sister and nurse in the Odrau Hospital in the Czech Republic for many years until the communist government expelled our Sisters from this hospital in 1964. Sister M. Gismunda died in Ullersdorf.
My parents: Zuzanna Kula and Teodor Baron had harbored the desire for religious life in their hearts, but God’s will was different. My mother always wanted to go back to Muenster to join the Congregation where her sister, Sister Wilborada, had been living and serving for several years. She wanted to go to Münster with a friend from the parish, who actually joined and was later given the name Sister M. Adalgis. A serious illness prevented my mother from joining too, so she stayed at home. She always harbored the wish in her heart that if she married and had girls, they could perhaps become Sisters if it was God’s will.
The Franciscan spirit also prevailed in my father’s family. His brother Francis became a Friar Minor on August 28, 1919 and took the name Brother Joachim. After his studies, he was ordained a priest on February 3, 1924 in the monastery on St. Annaberg. Due to a serious illness, he died at a very young age on September 10, 1924. My father Teodor wanted to join the Franciscan order on St. Annaberg after the death of his brother, but on one occasion the father guardian was not there, and on the second occasion the guardian had no time for the candidate Theodor.
And so it happened that Zusanna Kula and Theodor Baron met, fell in love and married on July 12, 1925 in St. Joseph’s parish church in Wengern. They lived a very pious and happy life. They had many children. Seven daughters and one son were born to them. My eldest sister died when she was eight months old. My mother fell seriously ill and died at the age of 46. Our father and our aunt Rosalie Kula took care of us children aged 3-15.
Of my siblings, only my eldest sister Gertrude joined the Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Ullersdorf. On August 20, 1949, she received the religious name of her deceased aunt – Sister M. Wilborada. After a serious illness, she died in Ullersdorf on August 18, 1950.
When I went to Ullersdorf for my sister’s funeral, I felt a great longing for religious life. I really wasn’t interested in worldly youthful entertainments. I wanted to serve God and the people with the Franciscan Sisters. In 1954, at the age of 19, I joined the Congregation of the Hospital Sisters in Ullersdorf. and was given the name Sister M. Faustiniana when I was invested. I am not a registered nurse, but I have served God and people through prayer and especially through office work. Now I am retired. I have enough time to spend with God and to serve and help in the refectory of the provincial house.
Within two years of my service, God called my twin sister Matilda to our Congregation in 1956. She was again given the name Sister M. Wilborada. She was a registered nurse and served God and the sick with great love and dedication for many years. She was able to celebrate her golden jubilee before she died in 2008.
The Lord God chose our family in a special way. Our parents’ wish was fulfilled in us, the children. In 1958, their fourth daughter, my sister Anna, entered the Congregation of the Hospital Sisters in Ullersdorf. Her religious name is Sister M. Taurina. She graduated from nursing school and worked as a nurse. She served for the glory of God and the good of the people in various institutions, in different positions, depending on the needs of the Polish Province.
Among the called ones from one family we should add two more women: The first woman is my cousin Teresa Stelmach, who entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Charles Borromeo in Trebnitz in 1959, where she received the name Sister M. Beata. The second woman from our family circle is our niece Rose Baron, who entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Opole in 1980 and serves God and people as a catechist and organist as Sister M. Judyta.”
Looking back on the religious vocations in her family and looking back on her own religious journey, Sister M. Faustiniana thanks God for the many gifts and graces of vocations.
