Inauguration of Bishop Dr. Heiner Wilmer

Münster, June 22, 2026. Dr. Heiner Wilmer is the new Bishop of Münster. The service marking his inauguration was celebrated on June 21 in the packed St. Paul’s Cathedral in Münster. This was followed by a celebration on Cathedral Square. Wilmer is the 77th Bishop of Münster and the 76th successor to the diocese’s founder, St. Liudger, who became the first Bishop of Münster in 805.

The installation ceremony began with the presentation of the papal letter of appointment to Cathedral Provost Hans-Bernd Köppen and its verification by the Cathedral Chapter. The document was then solemnly presented to all those present and read aloud in German translation.

Afterward, the Cathedral Provost addressed Bishop Heiner, saying:

We are pleased to confirm that you are the rightful Bishop of Münster.

Afterward, the bishop’s crozier from the statue of St. Liborius was presented to Bishop Emeritus Dr. Felix Genn, who passed it on to the 76th successor of St. Liudger with the words: “Receive the crozier of St. Liudger. Care for the Church of Münster; care for the entire flock of Christ. May the Holy Spirit, who has appointed you as bishop, help you to guide the People of God.” In accordance with a custom dating back to the 17th century, this staff was removed from the statue at the beginning of the sede vacante. It will be returned to the statue during the Pontifical Mass on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, on June 29, 2026.

Equipped with the crosier, Bishop Heiner was led to the cathedra by the Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, and took his seat there.

Representatives of the clergy, religious orders, and various groups within the pastoral region expressed their willingness to collaborate with the new bishop. On behalf of all congregations in the Diocese of Münster, Sister M. Margarete Ulager, General Superior of the International Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, issued the following statement:

We religious take great joy in living and working in the Diocese of Münster. Today we ask for your trust. We look forward to a fruitful, fraternal collaboration with you in serving the people of our diocese.

In his homily, Bishop Dr. Wilmer—who has also served as chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference since February—reflected on the pilgrimage routes he had walked with various groups in the Diocese of Münster during the week leading up to his installation, linking this experience to the Gospel reading of the day, which recounts how Jesus sent out his disciples. In it, he tells them: “Whoever acknowledges me, the Father in heaven will also acknowledge.” Bishop Wilmer emphasized: “To acknowledge means to be in harmony with God—and to make that visible.” Especially in today’s turbulent times, he said, the question arises as to whom one belongs to and whom one acknowledges. “To profess means to orient oneself. To anchor oneself. Not to hide,” he said. “Living examples” have included “prophetic voices” from people who came from the Diocese of Münster, such as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), Maria Droste zu Vischering (1863–1899), and Sister Maria Euthymia (1914–1955), who was beatified in 2001. “Sister Maria Euthymia embodies the resounding silence of the prophetic voice and courageous action,” Bishop Wilmer emphasized.

Greetings were delivered by the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst; the Mayor of Münster, Tilman Fuchs; the Vice Chair of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Dr. Michael Gerber of Fulda; and Brigitte Lehmann and Ulrich Vollmer on behalf of the Diocesan Committee of Catholics in the Diocese of Münster. The service was accompanied by music from the Cathedral Music Choirs under the direction of Cathedral Music Director Alexander Lauer and Cathedral Cantor Verena Schürmann. Cathedral Organist Thomas Schmitz played the organ, accompanied by the STRINGent & Freunde orchestra.

With moving words and in many different languages, Bishop Dr. Heiner Wilmer thanked God and all those who had accompanied him on his journey thus far and who had welcomed him so joyfully in Münster. “I look forward to being with you!” he exclaimed in conclusion, ending his words of thanks with a Westphalian “Chut chaon!”

After the new bishop’s ceremonial procession, a large celebration took place on Cathedral Square.

Photos: Münster Diocese

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Conclusion of the International Archives Conference

Münster, June 19, 2026. At the conclusion of the first International Archives Conference today, the diverse impressions and outcomes of the week were summarized, and the course was set for future archival work within the Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis —both at the various locations and internationally.

The final day of the International Archives Conference began with a Mass celebrated by Prof. Father Dr. Dr. Michael Plattig, O.Carm., in both German and English. In his homily, Father Michael took up the theme of the Gospel and described gratitude as an important and highly relevant attitude, one that is also expressed in the words of the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Gratitude enriches life.” He emphasized that the Congregation’s greatest treasure lies in the personal—in our relationship with God, in our Sisters and staff, and in the legacies of all the Sisters whose stories are preserved in the archives.

The spiritual reflection from the Indian Province consisted of a meditation in text and images on the theme of roots. Just as trees are held and nourished by invisible roots, so too can we humans experience a fulfilling, joyful life through strong roots. “Like St. Francis, our founder, Father Christoph Bernsmeyer, was convinced that the strength of consecrated life does not come from external success, but from hearts deeply rooted in Christ and the Gospel,” explained Sister M. Johncy, Provincial Superior of the Indian Province. “As members of our Congregation, we are called to connect ourselves to these strong roots.”

The main focus of the day’s work was to evaluate all the information and insights from the Archives Conference and to jointly develop a strategy for the future of archival work within the international Congregation. The participants unanimously reported that they had gained new perspectives on the great importance and complexity of archival work and were taking valuable theoretical and practical knowledge back to their respective home countries—along with many ideas on how archival work can be organized locally in the future. They also emphasized how valuable the in-person gathering and international networking were for them.

An important outcome of the conference is the joint decision to establish an international working group dedicated to shaping the future of archival work within the Congregation. “One goal will also be to develop binding common criteria for our archives,” said Superior General Sister M. Margarete. “At the same time, we must also ask: What is different at each location, and should remain that way?”

“My heart is filled with two great emotions,” said General Treasurer and Archivist Sister M. Beata Kapica, “gratitude toward God, and the courageous spirit of renewal needed to actively shape the upcoming challenges. Let us continue on this new path courageously and hand in hand.”

In closing, Sister M. Beata thanked the moderators, all contributors and participants, as well as everyone who worked behind the scenes to ensure the success of the first International Archives Conference—the interpreters, the team at Marienhaus, and the Generalate team.

Sister M. Johncy, Provincial Superior of the Indian Province, spoke on behalf of the international delegations, participants, and guests to express her heartfelt thanks to Superior General Sister M. Margarete Ulager, General Treasurer Sister M. Beata Kapica, and the team at the Generalate for organizing this informative and forward-looking conference. “This was a wonderful start to our continued work together,” she emphasized. “We look forward to the next steps.”

In addition to a wealth of information and inspiration, everybody also took home the latest issue of the Congregations international magazine, TauNews.

The Generalate Sisters and team bid a warm farewell to all participants of the first International Archives Conference and wish everyone a safe and blessed journey home, a restful weekend—and an inspiring read.

Some impressions of the day:

Photos: Michael Kestin

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Digitization and Data Protection

Münster, June 18, 2026. What considerations must be taken into account regarding digitization and data protection in archival work? This complex topic was the focus of today’s International Archival Conference hosted by the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis.

The fourth day of the archival conference began with a keynote address from the Japanese Province. “The Lord’s mercy never ends”: With this central message, Provincial Superior Sister Maria Fidelis Furukawa referred to Psalm 136 and presented the participants with a video featuring meditative texts, photos, and music, which had been created by the Vietnamese Sisters of the Province.

In the morning, Lennart Metken, Deputy Director of the Diocesan Archives of Münster, spoke about the diverse digital challenges in archival work and presented options for organizing archives as well as for digitizing paper and photographic documents. Even simple measures, such as standardizing the naming conventions for photos and documents and ensuring they reflect their content, can significantly improve the discoverability of archival materials.

Frank Kunz, the Generalate’s Data Protection Officer, received a warm round of applause right at the start of his presentation when he welcomed all international participants in their respective languages—German, English, Polish, Japanese, and Hindi. He provided a comprehensive and clear explanation of the origins, purpose, and fundamental legal aspects of data protection. “People are at the heart of data protection,” he emphasized, noting that the churches play a pioneering role in data protection: “The history of data protection began with the seal of confession, which was established in 1215 at the Fourth Lateran Council.” In principle, according to Frank Kunz, the disclosure of personal data is not permitted; however, there are exceptions, for example, in a professional context and also in archival work. He recommended building trust through transparency in data processing, and by data minimization.

A break in the presentations was used to honor several anniversaries: The participants congratulated Sister M. Maksymiliana Pilarska, Provincial Superior of the Polish Province, on her 25th anniversary of religious profession; Sister M. Marianne Kamlage, Provincial Vicaress of the German Province, on her 40th anniversary of religious profession; and Sister Maria Fidelis Furukawa, Provincial Superior of the Japanese Province, on her Golden Jubilee. Also honored were Brian Blasco, Director of Communications and Archivist of the U.S. Canonical House for 30 years of service to the Sisters in the U.S.A., and Rolf Lehmann, who has served as an interpreter for the international Congregation for 50 years.

Finally, General Councilor Sister M. Lima Arackal and General Superior Sister M. Margarete Ulager reported on the successful completion of the revision of the General Constitutions.

In the evening, amid midsummer temperatures, all participants in the archives conference were invited to a barbecue at the Motherhouse. Special guests included the chairpersons of the St. Franziskus Foundation as well as representatives from St. Franziskus Hospital and from the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Some impressions of the day:

Photos: Michael Kestin

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Visit to Gerleve Abbey

Münster, June 17, 2026. The participants and guests of the International Archival Conference visited Gerleve Benedictine Abbey today and gained a wide range of insights into the life and work of the monks. Between the communal celebration of the Eucharist in the morning and midday prayer in the monastery church, the Benedictines guided the participants through the library and the archives, the bookbinding workshop, and the cloistered section of the monastery garden. Lunch at the monastery restaurant rounded out the visit before the group boarded the bus back to the motherhouse in Münster.

Shortly before nine o’clock, Abbot Andreas Werner, OSB, warmly welcomed the international guests from Münster and led them into the monastery church for the morning celebration of the Eucharist, which was presided over by the priests and accompanied by Latin chants. Afterward, the participants were divided into three groups and guided through the monastery and the surrounding park.

Father Bartholomäus Denz, OSB, gave the visitors from Münster a tour of the archives of the abbey, which was founded in 1899, and also explained his work in the bookbinding workshop. To mark the 100th anniversary of Gerleve Abbey, Father Bartholomäus personally compiled a chronicle of the abbey covering the years 1899–1998, and produced a print run of ten copies. A necrology containing the biographies of the deceased brothers, along with an accompanying volume with their photos also originated from his workshop.

Father Daniel Hörnemann, OSB, provided a glimpse into the monastery library, which contains some 250,000 books and journals, primarily on theology. The oldest fragment in the library dates back to the 9th century, and there are about 3,000 works from before 1800. The smallest book preserved there is smaller than a thumbnail and is kept, along with the necessary magnifying glass, in a lined casket measuring approximately four by four centimeters.

Brother Michael Brun, OSB—who joined the Order in 1984 and has been responsible for the green spaces on the abbey’s 64-hectare grounds since 1988—led the tour through the cloister garden, a 30-morgen parkland. The wonderful tree population dates back to Abbot Father Raphael, who was the first abbot in Gerleve from 1906 to 1948. At the time of his entry into the order, Brother Michael reported, there were also fruit and vegetable gardens where 20 monks worked at that time.

After taking all these impressions in, the participants had the opportunity to shop for cards, books, devotional items, and locally produced jams and pastries in the abbey’s visitor’s shop, and then enjoy lunch, coffee, and cake at the monastery restaurant. Everyone agreed: It was a very successful outing with many wonderful encounters and fascinating insights into the life and work of the monks. “We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the Benedictines of Gerleve and their wonderful team for their great hospitality and the many inspiring experiences,” said Superior General Sister M. Margarete Ulager on behalf of all participants at the International Archives Conference.

Some impressions of the day:

Photos: Michael Kestin

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Archival Work: Exchange of Experience

Münster, June 16, 2026. Today, the international archival conference of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis focused on technical aspects of archival work and collegial exchange. Dr. Heinz Mestrup, director of the Diocesan Archives of Münster, and representatives from AUGIAS-Data GmbH—whose archival software is used in the Generalate’s archives—were invited as guest speakers. Conference participants gained interesting insights into the work being done on-site through a visit to the Generalate archives at the Motherhouse, and a presentation by Generalate archivist Marie Brandl.

The day’s session began with an opening address by Sister M. Marianne Kammlage, Provincial Vicaress of the German Province. Sister M. Marianne referred to the motto of the last Provincial Chapter, “Pilgrims of Hope,” and reminded everyone that all the Sisters of the Congregation are pilgrims with a long shared history, in which every single Sister is important. “How we think and act today, in the here and now, determines what new memories we create for the future,” she said.

Dr. Heinz Mestrup, Director of the Diocesan Archives of Münster, explained the significance of Congregational archives for his institution. “The Diocesan Archives have already taken over the archives of several congregations,” he explained, noting that a regional connection to the religious community is important for such a takeover. Other aspects of his presentation included the necessary preparatory work and the legal framework for potential takeovers.

Henning Ruppel, M.Sc. in Physics, one of the managing directors of AUGIAS-Data GmbH in Senden, and his colleague Jürgen Markert, who works in consulting and product development, presented the archiving software “Augias Archiv X” and described product enhancements the company is currently working on. These included applications of AI and cloud solutions that are of interest to organizations with multiple locations.

In the afternoon, Marie Brandl, archivist at the Generalate’s archives, explained the core tasks of archival work and described numerous helpful measures for protecting archival materials—ranging from climate control in archive rooms to fire safety measures and protection against mold and insects.

Finally, the participants discussed the wide range of information and insights gained from the expert presentations and outlined the questions and tasks that will arise for their future work at their respective locations.

Some impressions of the day:

Opening of the International Archives Conference

June 15, 2026. Today marked the opening of the first International Archives Conference of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis with a solemn Eucharistic celebration—a votive Mass to the Holy Spirit—in the Motherhouse Church, followed by the first day of sessions at the Marienhaus in Münster. The event highlighted not only the great importance of archival work for the international Congregation but also the wide range of topics and challenges facing the archives at the sisters’ locations around the world.

At the Marienhaus, the participants and guests of the archival conference were warmly welcomed by Superior General Sister M. Margarete Ulager and Sister M. Diethilde Bövingloh, Superior of the German Province. The conference is being moderated by Cathedral Provost Hans-Bernd Köppen and Prof. Dr. Margaret Nemann.

In her introductory lecture, Sister M. Margarete explained the great importance of archival work for the international Congregation, which is expressed in the conference’s motto: “Preserving yesterday for tomorrow today.” Among the conference’s objectives are to gather information on the status of archival work at the various international locations, to exchange views on local challenges, and to jointly decide how the Congregation’s heritage should be managed in the future. “To fulfill this great task, it is also helpful and important for all participants to get to know one another personally and build a vibrant network,” said Sister M. Margarete, thanking the international delegations for making the journey, some of which involved traveling great distances.

Prof. Fr. Dr. Dr. Michael Plattig, O.Carm., Spiritual Director of the international religious community, explained in his keynote address the spiritual dimension of archival work and the importance of a reflective and also critical culture of remembrance, to which archives make an important contribution.

Sister M. Beata Kapica, General Treasurer and Archivist of the Generalate, introduced the substantive work of the Archives Conference. “Archival work is a valuable service to the community’s memory,” she emphasized. “Together we safeguard the heritage entrusted to us—and together we want to give our history a future.”

In the afternoon, delegates and archivists from the international locations and the Generalate provided insights into their work. It became clear how varied the challenges are, resulting not only from historical developments but also from local cultural and climatic conditions.

Some impressions of the day:

Photos: ©Michael Kestin

First International Archives Conference

Münster, June 12, 2026. “Preserving yesterday for tomorrow, today”: This is the motto of the first International Archives Conference of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, which will take place in Münster from June 15–19, 2026, at the invitation of the General Administration of the international Congregation.

Among the approximately 50 participants are the superiors and heads of the archives at the Generalate and at the locations in Germany, Poland, the USA, Japan, and India. Today, the delegations from Poland and Japan were warmly welcomed at the Motherhouse in Münster; participants from the USA and India are expected tomorrow.

“Preserving our historical heritage is far more than a purely administrative task: it is a service to the memory of our community and the history of each country, as well as a testimony to our work in the world,” explains General Treasurer Sister M. Beata Kapitza, who is responsible for the Generalate Archives and is chairing the conference. “To fulfill this mission in a timely and professional manner, we would like to exchange ideas on current standards, challenges, and best-practice examples during this international conference.” In addition to reports from the various order archives, the program includes presentations by external experts as well as a tour of the archive at the Gerleve convent.

“The documentation of our international Congregation and the examination of our history demonstrate impressively how archival work can build bridges,” explains General Superior Sister M. Margarete Ulager. “We are very much looking forward to exchanging ideas on this important topic with our guests from all over the world.”

The international conference has been in preparation for several months by the Sisters and the Generalate team. The conference hall has now been fully equipped for the event—including the interpreter booths. All presentations will be available in German, English, Polish, and Japanese.

See you at the Catholic Day in Würzburg!

At the Catholic Day (“Kirchentag”) in Würzburg from May 14–17, 2026, the international Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis will have a booth on the “Church Mile.” The team of Sisters from the Provinces in Germany, Poland, Japan, and India, as well as the international Generalate, will be supported by staff members from Münster.

“Our goal at the Catholic Day is to represent our international Congregation, and to engage in conversation with many people,” explain General Councilor Sister M. Hiltrud Vacker (back row, 2nd from left) and Sister M. Irmgardis Taphorn from the German Province (3rd from left), who will be reporting on the event on Instagram [@franziskanerinnenmuenster].

Anyone wishing to visit the Hospital Sisters in Würzburg will find them at booth FB-G-07 starting May 14, 2026. The motto of this year’s “Kirchentag” is “Have courage, get up!” Today, the first group of attendants received a blessing for their journey in front of the Motherhouse in Münster and set off for Würzburg.

“All our Sisters in Münster and around the world who are unable to travel to Würzburg will be with us in spirit,” the team emphasizes, “and some will also be there visually, on the two roll-up banners that will be on display at our booth.” For example, Sister M. Nichola Truong Thi Hoang Oanh from Vietnam, who has been serving as Provincial Vicaress of the Japanese Province since last October (left), as well as Sister M. Vincentia Hülskamp (with flowers), who joined the Hospital Sisters in 1963, and Sister M. Beatinis Thünemann, who recently celebrated the 65th anniversary of her profession in the Motherhouse.

Easter Reflections

From Holy Thursday through Easter Vigil, Prof. Dr. Father Michael Plattig, O.Carm., celebrated the Holy Eucharist at the Motherhouse Church of the of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, and has summarized for us some reflections from his homilies.

“This year, on October 4, we celebrate the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis. I would therefore like to draw on various texts from the saint’s Testament or the Life of St. Francis by Thomas of Celano during the services of Holy Week.

In Chapter 163 of the Life of St. Francis, Thomas of Celano writes regarding the saint’s death: “When the brothers wept bitterly and lamented inconsolably, the holy father had bread brought to him. He blessed it, broke it, and gave each one a small piece to eat. He also had the Gospel book brought and asked that the Gospel according to John be read to him from the passage where it says: ‘Before the Passover, etc.’ He recalled that most holy Last Supper which the Lord celebrated with his disciples for the last time. For in honor of that memory and as a sign of the deep love he had for his brothers, he did all this.”

As a comfort to his brothers, Francis celebrates a symbolic Last Supper, in which he breaks the bread and has the Gospel of Holy Thursday read, which we have just heard. In doing so, he enters into the Passion of Christ, which begins with the Last Supper. According to Celano, there were two reasons for this: the reverent remembrance of Christ’s Last Supper and the testimony of the love Francis had for his brothers.”

Thomas of Celano makes it clear that Francis understood the Eucharist as a meal from which a mission arises, namely to carry on the love revealed in it and to act according to Christ’s example.

In the Testament of St. Francis there is a prayer that became a daily prayer in the Franciscan tradition: “We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, – even in all your churches throughout the world, – and we praise you, because through your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”

Compassion for the Crucified One and for the suffering becomes a central theme of his life, until he ultimately becomes the first to bear the stigmata of Christ on his own body.

The message of the Cross is not an easy one, but it is necessary, especially in our time, so that the suffering are not put off, the victims are not forgotten, and our world does not lose all humanity.

As in the Canticle of the Sun, Francis welcomes death—which is terrible and hated by all—as his Sorrella Morte, Sister Death. He sees it as part of creation and at the same time as his companion into the new reality of the new heaven and the new earth, into God’s perfected creation, through death and the Resurrection.

The Easter Vigil liturgy, too, links creation with the message of the Resurrection.

God’s creation, for all that is praiseworthy and wonderful about it, is not the final reality.

Especially in light of the current state of the world, I find this to be a comforting message. This reality, marked by the selfish lust for power of some nations and their leaders, and therefore entangled in war and suffering, is not the final word; humanity does not have the final word; we have heard it: GOD created heaven and earth, and GOD reserves the final redemption of creation for Himself.

Through Christ’s Resurrection, into which we have been incorporated through Baptism, we have a head start on creation. When it rises from sin and death, we who have risen will glorify God with it.

The death of St. Francis points to this connection, which refers to the cosmic significance of the Resurrection, encompassing all of creation. The praise of the Creator in the Canticle of the Sun culminates, in the saint’s death, in the praise of the Risen One, in the praise of the eternal God, to whom creation will follow.”

Successful Christmas Bazaar 2025

Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and “Wolltäterinnen” (“Wool Workers”) hand over donation

Muenster, January 7, 2026. From November 21-23, 2025, the traditional charity Christmas bazaar took place once again in the foyer of St. Francis Hospital in Muenster—a joint project of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and the creative group of employees at St. Francis Hospital, the “Wool Workers.” With popular classics such as hand-knitted socks, warm hats and scarves as well as Christmas decorations, the craftswomen raised a total of €7,600. In December, they donated the money to the “Babylotsen” (“Baby guides”) program based at St. Franziskus Hospital which helps babies and young families, and to the hospital’s pediatric clinic.

“Baby guide” Hjördis Bayer as well as Dr. Meike Franssen, head physician of the Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, and Dr. David Lewers, Commercial Director of the hospital, expressed their gratitude to the organizers of the bazaar. “We are very pleased about this wonderful donation, which will help us to support children, their mothers, and their families in difficult situations and to have a positive influence on their lives even after their stay in the hospital”, Dr. Lewers said.

More information on the Sisters who contribute to the bazaar can be found in last year’s report.

Jubilee Year 2025: A Review

During the Jubilee Year 2025, many of our international Congregation’s Sisters and staff traveled the world as “pilgrims of hope.” In Rome, they attended papal audiences (some with Pope Francis, others with Pope Leo XIV.) and passed through the Holy Doors; they made pilgrimages to various spiritual places in Rome, Subiaco, and Assisi, for example, as well as in Malta, China, and their respective home countries.

At the Generalate, we have selected some of the impressions and moving moments of these international pilgrimages and compiled them in a video that we would like to share with you at the end of this Jubilee Year. All the pilgrims shown here always carried in their hearts all those Sisters of our international Congregation who were unable to make the journey themselves.

The film is presented by General Councilor Sister M. Hiltrud Vacker, Claudia Berghorn (International Communication at the Generalate), and Dr. Ulrike Teßarek (Value Management at the St. Francis Foundation), who traveled to Rome together in June 2025.

All the Sisters and staff at the Generalate wish you a peaceful and blessed New Year! May God bless and protect you and all those who are dear to you.

PACE E BENE!

By the way: You can find this film and many further interesting videos in the media section of our website.

Phototograpy, videography, music and production by Michael Kestin. Edited by Claudia Berghorn and Michael Kestin. ©Generalate 2025

Pilgrims of Hope (10): Future

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in October: Hope for Future

“The Future of Thinking” — this was the recent cover story of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. It featured a major interview with the American scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil (77), who has been fascinated by technology since childhood and has contributed to the development of artificial intelligence ever since he first encountered a computer in New York in 1960, at the age of twelve. Kurzweil is convinced that in just four years, by 2029, AI will be more intelligent than humans. It will then be possible, he says, to make that knowledge directly accessible to humans through implants in the brain. “Merging with AI is the only way not to be dominated by it,” says Kurzweil, without offering any ethical evaluation of this development.

What is possible — and what is right? Are we allowed to do everything that is possible? These questions have always occupied humanity, not only in science and technology, but also when it comes to our personal life paths. That was already true in the 13th century. Back then, the patron saint of our religious community, Francis of Assisi, the son of a wealthy merchant, could have chosen a life of luxury and comfort. Yet after personal, physical, and spiritual crises, he decided at the age of 25 to take the more difficult path, the one that was right and meaningful for him. Inspired by the Gospel, he gave away his worldly possessions to serve God and others. He could not have foreseen how profoundly his decision would shape the future: many people joined him, and to this day, the Franciscan orders and lay communitiescelebrate his life and work every year on the Feast of St. Francis in early October.

Predicting the future remains impossible, even with AI. We can only try our best to prepare for the challenges that new developments bring. And we can take a stand when it comes to the Christian and Franciscan values that guide us and will continue to shape our life and work in the future: to refuse to reduce people to their thinking and performance, and instead to see each person as a unique and precious creation of God — as a whole being of body, soul, and spirit.

Since the founding of our community in 1844, this holistic understanding has guided our commitment to people in sickness, old age, and need. It also shapes the education and formation through which we prepare the young members of our international order for their future. Of course, the young women in Poland, Japan, and India receive solid professional training — for example, to become nurses, doctors, teachers, social workers, pastoral assistants, auditors, lawyers, or theologians, and eventually to take on leadership roles within our community. The curriculum includes English as the common language of our congregation, as well as the traditions and customs of each culture — such as special dances or the tea ceremony. At the same time, we emphasize deep spiritual and emotional formation, enabling our sisters to bear witness through their service to God and humanity, and to live a human life in all its fullness — a life in which AI will surely play a role in the future, both on the curriculum and, hopefully, through medical progress that our sisters can use for the good of their patients.

Returning to Ray Kurzweil: he leaves no doubt that he considers some developments inevitable, saying, “The advancement of AI is a global competition — if we don’t take part, other countries will.”

Perhaps we Christians should claim the freedom to start a parallel competition for the future, a competition in humanity. Because if we don’t lead the way, who will?

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in July 2025.

By Schwester M. Rita Edakkoottathil and Claudia Berghorn

Pilgrims of Hope (8): Arrival

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in August: Hope for Arrival.

Pilgrimages have been very popular for some time now. One example is the Way of St. James or “Camino”, which was designated a European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1987 and is highly recommended. The official website of the German Way of St. James headquarters states that in the “record year” of 2024, almost half a million people traveled the “Camino” for the first time. They came from almost 200 countries, with pilgrims from Germany statistically ranking fourth – after Spain, America, and Italy.

The media also plays a major role in the growing awareness and popularity of pilgrimage routes. After German comedian and author Hape Kerkeling published his travelogue “Ich bin dann mal weg” (I’m off then) in 2006, the number of Germans on the Camino rose so sharply that statisticians even speak of a “Kerkeling effect.” The thousands of photos of the beautiful landscape posted on social media are also fueling this trend.

Even if modern pilgrimages are not always religiously motivated, there is often a spiritual longing behind them: the search for the essential, for one’s own path, and ultimately for the meaning of life. Many associate the pilgrimage experience with the hope of finding themselves. This begins long before the actual journey, when pilgrims plan their hiking stages, leave everyday life behind and consider what is absolutely essential in a backpack that, in the best case, weighs only six kilos.

It’s easier to travel with light luggage: pilgrimage has always been a metaphor for the journey of life. Its first boom can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Even then, Santiago de Compostela was one of the three most important Christian pilgrimage destinations, alongside Jerusalem and Rome. Our namesake, Francis of Assisi, made a pilgrimage there at the beginning of the 13th century – and as the son of a wealthy merchant family, he was one of the few who could afford to do so. In this Jubilee Year 2025, more than 40 million pilgrims are expected in the Eternal City, responding to Pope Francis’ call and invitation to be “pilgrims of hope.”

Among them will be several Sisters of various nationalities from our international Congregation, including German, Indian, and Japanese. Other Sisters from our German province, for example, have made a pilgrimage to Gerleve on the Ludgerusweg, and Sisters from the Japanese province have followed in the footsteps of St. Francis and St. Philip to Assisi and Florence.

All pilgrimages have one thing in common: they are spiritual journeys that take place in our earthly world – in the here and now. That has always been challenging. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims were warned about highwaymen; today, they are warned about pickpockets. The queues of people waiting in front of the Holy Doors in Rome are long. The security guards at St. Peter’s Basilica ensure that no one dawdles when entering through the “Porta Santa,” while their colleagues at Santa Maria Maggiore try to prevent visitors from taking selfies at the tomb of Pope Francis.

There is little silence and contemplation, but all the more distraction. And pilgrims are also people who get hungry and thirsty, who get sunburned and suffer from sore feet. Therefore, a successful pilgrimage requires not only good preparation, but also a lot of patience with oneself and with others, as well as a great deal of determination.

Pilgrimage is and remains a life experience that can be very enriching, both spiritually and personally. Given all the possibilities available today, and the many people who are on the move, it is more worthwhile than ever to think carefully in advance about where you actually want to arrive: in Santiago, Assisi, or Rome. On Instagram, in your center, or a little closer to God.

By Sister M. Hiltrud Vacker and Claudia Berghorn
Photos: Kestin

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in August 2025.

Pilgrims of Hope (7): Brothers and Sisters

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in July: Hope for Brothers and Sisters.

25.07.25. In 2018, a headline from the UK attracted a lot of attention: the world’s first “Ministry for Loneliness” was established in the United Kingdom. Two years later, Japan followed suit. In October 2023, an international study covering 140 countries found that almost one in four people worldwide suffers from loneliness. At almost the same time, the German government developed a “strategy against loneliness” and recently presented its latest “loneliness barometer,” which analyzes the experience of loneliness among the German population every year and states a rising trend.

Everyone agrees that loneliness is a major problem of our time, as loneliness not only weighs on the soul, but also on the body. Its toxic effect is said to be equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. Some studies even point to a threat to democracy, as lonely people show significantly less trust in political institutions and a stronger tendency toward extremism.

People who experience exclusion and discrimination have always been particularly affected by loneliness. During the lifetime of St. Francis of Assisi, it was lepers who were banished from the city gates and left to their fate. The Franciscan chronicles report that a personal encounter with a leper changed Francis’ life: The rich, spoiled young man dismounted from his horse and embraced the sick man, in whom he recognized his brother, in whom he recognized Jesus. Later, Francis and his companions dedicated their lives to these very sick and marginalized people, and included all of creation in their brotherly care. This is also evidenced by the “Canticle of the Sun,” which Francis wrote 800 years ago. In it, he refers to all fellow creatures, as well as the sun, moon, and the elements, as his brothers and sisters.

Since the founding of our Congregation in 1844, inspired by the example of St. Francis, we Hospital Sisters have always tried to live this kind of “brotherhood” or “sisterhood” in our service to God and humanity. In the early 1990s, this attitude led Sister M. Juvenalis Lammers and me to Berlin. It was a time when HIV, then a new virus, was spreading fear and terror, and infection was tantamount to a death sentence. Within Germany, a particularly large number of infected people lived and died in the capital, lonely and marginalized like “new lepers,” rejected by society, by the Church, and some even by their own families.

In November 1992, with the approval of our Congregation’s leadership in Münster, we moved to Berlin-Pankow, a district in the former East Germany. As trained nurses, we worked for four years in clinics and outpatient care to gain experience in treating AIDS patients. It quickly became clear to us that there was a gap in the care for these patients, especially in accompanying tose dying with AIDS. To fill this gap, we founded the outpatient hospice service “Hospizdienst Tauwerk e.V.” in 1997 together with like-minded people.

Since then, with the help specially trained volunteers and Sister M. Margret Steggemann, who joined us in Berlin in 2009, we have accompanied more than 500 AIDS patients till their death, offering them acceptance, interest, dialogue, and solidarity instead of loneliness and exclusion. We are delighted to be able to continue this commitment to people with AIDS under the umbrella of the Caritas Association for the Archdiocese of Berlin, starting this year.

St. Francis did not need international studies to know that the best medicine for loneliness is social contact and good relationships. In accompanying the dying, we too have repeatedly felt how much comfort there is in simply having someone there—when, instead of exclusion, a healing bond becomes palpable because we encounter each other as human beings, as brothers and sisters. Not only in sickness and in death, but also in the midst of our life; not only in Assisi and Berlin, but everywhere. And if, statistically speaking, one in four people is lonely, then, in very practical terms, there is lots to do for each and every one of us, wherever we are.

By Sister M. Hannelore Huesmann and Claudia Berghorn
Photos: private

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in July 2025.

Further information on the Hospice Service in Berlin can be found in the following video, which was created in 2022 in co-operation with St. Francis Foundation and the German Province of our Congregation.

Pilgrims of Hope (6): Understanding

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in June: Hope for Understanding.

We recently celebrated the birth of the Church at Pentecost. Every year, the text of the Gospel fascinates us anew: The Disciples had gathered together in fear and had hid themselves. Then the Holy Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire, encouraging and inspiring them. The Disciples began to preach, and the miracle happened: “Everyone heard them speaking in their own language.”

This reference makes it clear that language has always been of great importance for proclaiming the Good News, first in the multi-ethnic state of Israel, which at that time belonged to the Roman Empire.

Francis of Assisi, our patron saint, and the Brothers of his community would probably have wished for such a Pentecost miracle at times. They were filled with the desire to spread the message of Jesus throughout the world, and to bear witness to it through their simple life according to the Gospel, in the service of God and the people. Even during the saint’s lifetime, they set out from Assisi to the whole world, mostly in pairs or small groups. But their faith and courage were clearly greater than their knowledge of the world, so that some of their missionary journeys failed.

This was the case in 1219, for example, when about 60 brothers crossed the Alps into what is now Germany without speaking the language. They were asked if they needed shelter and food. They tried answering “Ja!” (“yes”) and were welcomed kindly. The Brothers decided to answer every question with “Ja!” from then on. Were they heretics? “Ja!” they replied, and were astonished to be chased away with insults and shame. A failed but instructive encounter. When the Brothers crossed the Alps again two years later, their mission was successful thanks to careful preparation and better language skills: with their settlement in Augsburg in 1221, the history of the Franciscans in Germany began.

Language has always been very important to us Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. This was already the case in 1875, when 20 of our young Sisters went to the USA – trained nurses without any knowledge of English, who initially mainly cared for German immigrants. After a short time, they found the language barrier so hindering to their work that they studied English alongside primary school children. Their new language skills helped them to establish the American Province, to found hospitals, and to set up the first Catholic nursing school in the USA. Of course, it also helped them to proclaim their faith. During further missions in Europe, East Asia, Africa, and India, our Sisters were repeatedly confronted with the task of communication.

Today, 500 Hospital Sisters of St. Francis live in our international Congregation worldwide. The diversity of nations, languages, and cultures is both a great treasure and a great challenge. We have chosen English as the common language that unites us—although it is a foreign language for most of our Sisters! This is also true for our Polish Sister, Sr. M. Teresa Wawrovicz. “At school, I was more interested in maths,” says the 36-year-old. She studied financial management and accounting and worked as Provincial Treasurer in the Polish province since 2019 before being elected General Councilor at the General Chapter in Münster in September 2024. She immediately realized that she would need to improve her language skills for her new responsibilities in the international leadership of the Congregation. She has been living in Dublin since the beginning of the year to learn English for six months. As soon as she returns to Münster, she will start learning German.

For us, studying languages is not just about understanding the content, but also about intercultural understanding. This is an important skill for the future that we have incorporated into the training program for the young Sisters in our community. Sr. M. Katarzyna and Sr. M. Dominka, two more Sisters from the Polish Province, are now also learning English in Ireland; as Europeans, they do not need a visa there.

In the case of three of our young Vietnamese Sisters from our Japan Province, it was difficult to obtain one-year visas for Germany. Sr. M. Hilary Nguyen, Sr. M. Josepha Bui, and Sr. M Angela Hoang are currently living with us in the German Motherhouse. They will spend six months learning German in Muenster, after which they will go to Malta to learn English. They were accompanied on their long journey to Germany by Sister Maria Fidelis Furukawa, Provincial Superior of our Japan Province, and Japanese Provincial Councilor Sister M. Vianney Kawaguchi. Incidentally, their first foreign language when they entered our religious community was Japanese.

The language that unites our community is important not only for our personal contact, but also for our spiritual life. “First I learned the prayers and the liturgy in English,” reports Sister Teresa. Because religious life is about relationships – relationships with God, with our fellow sisters, and with all the people we meet. Intercultural competence promotes our tolerance and understanding, wherever we are and whatever we do.

By Sister M. Rita Edakkoottathil and Claudia Berghorn
Photos: Michael Kestin

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in June 2025.

Pilgrims of Hope (5): Peace

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in Mai: Hope for Peace.

On May 8, 2025, the German Bundestag held a memorial service to commemorate the end of World War II and the liberation from National Socialism 80 years ago. Back then, in 1945, peace finally returned to Europe. However, this peace did not last until the memorial service.

On the same day, Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th Pontifex of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. The first words he spoke as Pope Leo XIV were: “Peace be with you all!” In fact, “peace” was a key word in his speech, and since then many have hoped that he, as the “Pope of Peace,” will help end the current wars and overcome the major crises in the world.

War and peace have always been among the most pressing issues in human history. St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of our Congregation, took part in a war against the neighboring city of Perugia in 1202 and spent more than a year as a prisoner of war in a dungeon. He returned to Assisi a sick and broken man and changed his life: he renounced all his worldly possessions and turned to God, and to the poor and marginalized. Peace between people, nations, and religions became an important concern for him: in 1219, Francis traveled to Palestine as a missionary and joined the Crusaders. Hoping to bring peace, he preached in the camp of the Muslim army before Sultan Al-Kamil. Unfortunately, his hope was not fulfilled.

Many of our Sisters can also tell of war experiences that have influenced their lives. This is also true of Sister M. Manuela Musholt, who was born in February 1940 on a small farm in Gescher-Estern as the eleventh of 15 children.

“My two oldest brothers were taken from the farm shortly before the end of the war and sent to the front when they were 17 and 16 years old,” she reports. “They were missing for four years before returning sick and traumatized from captivity in Siberia on Christmas Day 1949.” Sister Manuela remembers the nights toward the end of the war when all the windows were blacked out in the evening and the sound of Allied bombers flying over the house. “We prayed a lot during those nights,” she says, “for our brothers at the front, for our whole family, and for peace for all.” Religious life was always very important in her family. Sister Manuela developed an early desire to serve God, and the people—as a nurse. So, at the age of 19, she joined the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and began her nursing training in the hospital during her novitiate.

After many years working as a nurse as well as in occupational therapy and later in the Provincial Administration of the German Province, Sister Manuela has been looking after the museum in the Motherhouse of the Hospital Sisters since 2018. Here, visitors can also learn about the many Sisters who served in military hospitals – first in the German-Danish War of 1864, just 20 years after the Congregation was founded. Thirty-four sisters from Münster cared for the war wounded in the Austrian army’s military hospitals in Schleswig-Holstein in the North of Germany. As a token of gratitude, the then Mother Superior received a chasuble from the Austrian imperial couple, which now attracts many visitors to the museum as “Sissi’s chasuble.”

The sisters also served in military hospitals during the wars of 1866 and 1870/71, as well as in both World Wars, both on the front lines and in the hospitals and convents of the Congregation where military hospitals had been set up. They were called upon to do so by the Red Cross, among others. Many Sisters received medals and awards for their work, and quite a few died side by side with the wounded they cared for.

The old photos in the museum clearly show the suffering and inhumanity of war. “Both as nurses and as Franciscan Sisters, we will always be advocates of peace,” says Sister Manuela. This is entirely in keeping with the spirit of St. Francis, whose greeting unites us: “Pace e bene,” peace and all good.

By Sister M. Margarete Ulager and Claudia Berghorn

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in Mai 2025.

Pilgrims of Hope (4): Renewal

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in March: Hope for Renewal.

In the cycle of nature, April is a month of renewal: finally, the days are getting longer again, and every year, we can enjoy the bright yellow of the daffodils and the delicate green of the first leaves.

Our church year also follows a cycle of growth and decay, which culminates in the Holy Week. Here, death and renewal are particularly close together. The good news is that Jesus’ death on the cross is not the end, but the prerequisite for a new beginning, for Resurrection. Every year, this Easter message strengthens our faith, and our hope that a new beginning, that renewal is possible.

Our patron, St. Francis of Assisi, who had a particularly close relationship with nature, was also convinced of this. In 1225, when he was already terminally ill, Francis wrote his hymn of praise to God’s creation, the “Canticle of the Creatures,” known to many as “Laudato Si.” This year, 2025, the Franciscan family celebrates the 800th anniversary of this important work.

At a time when the word “sustainability” was still a long way from being invented, Francis lived in true harmony with nature. In his “Canticle of the Creatures,” he thanked God for his creation. Full of respect and at the same time very intimately, he speaks of the sun, the moon and the elements as his “brothers and sisters”, and he is not afraid of “Brother Death,” who is, after all, a natural part of the cycle called life. In 1979, Pope John Paul II named St. Francis the patron saint of environmental protection and ecology.

St. Francis’ way of life would also be described as “sustainable” today: He renounced personal possessions and consumption, and only had the bare necessities for life – a conscious restriction that set him free to serve God and humanity.

As Franciscan Sisters, we have based our lives on these principles of St. Francis since the founding of our religious community in 1844. When we entered the Congregation, we vowed to live in “poverty, celibacy, and obedience.” In the past, this also meant that the Congregation lived as self-sufficiently as possible, and in harmony with nature: Until well after World War II, our Motherhouse in Muenster also comprised a farm; we Sisters ran a nursery and a bakery, our own wash house and a large kitchen, which we used to feed not only ourselves but also the patients at St. Francis Hospital and many people in need.

This has changed step by step, but we remain self-sufficient in one area: In our German Motherhouse, we run a tailor’s workshop where the clothes and veils for all the Sisters of the German Province and the General Administration are made to measure.

Sister M. Pankratia Stuewe has been working here since 1976. She turned 86 in February and celebrated her 60th anniversary last year. “We currently dress about 250 Sisters,” Sister Pankratia says. Like all the Sisters in the past, she originally trained as a nurse and worked in nursing for several years. But when help was needed in the tailor’s workshop, Sister Pankratia changed her place of work and learned the tailoring trade from scratch from her fellow Sisters. Today, she works with two bespoke tailors and specializes in sewing and adjusting the Sisters’ habits and veils. In her almost 50 years of service, she has only seen the Sisters’ clothing change twice – most recently in 1989. “The dress is much more practical than the former habit,” she explains. All the fabrics are robust and durable. For the veil, we Sisters can choose between a festive black and a white model, and the dress is available in four colors: anthracite or light gray for everyday wear, black for festive occasions and Church Holidays, and white for work. This means that we are always dressed appropriately. What more could a woman want?

Sustainable clothing, sustainably produced: We have been using renewable energy since 2022, when 690 solar modules installed on 1316 square meters of roof space. This photovoltaic system covers more than half of the energy requirements of our mother house and saves 122 tons of CO2 annually. St. Francis would certainly approve of that. And of the view of the roof of our Motherhouse Church in the dark: the solar panels form a cross shape that is illuminated by LEDs at night. And this shining cross reminds us again and again of God, the source of our faith, and of our hope for renewal.

By Sister M. Diethilde Boevingloh and Claudia Berghorn

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in April 2025.

Pilgrims of Hope (3): Healing

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in March: Hope for Healing.

Fasting is trendy. This is the result of a recent survey by the German health insurance company DAK: While in 2013, around 50 percent of Germans were willing to give up alcohol, sweets or cigarettes for a while for the sake of their health, today, the number has gone up to 72 percent.

Conscious abstinence with a healing effect: This positive aspect of our pre-Easter fasting period hardly needs any explanation anymore these days. But what are the religious aspects that can also be beneficial?

Personally, I appreciate the time of Lent as an opportunity for an inner process that begins with a mindful inventory. It is important to me to pause in my tracks and ask my heart: How do I live with God and with the people, here and now? Could there be something that might need healing? – An inventory that can lead to an inner and outer realignment.

This process of reorientation, which accompanies me during Lent, also runs through the history of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis, founded in 1844 as a Congregation of nurses. At the time, this was a concrete response to social need and the lack of health care. Since then, additional fields of work have developed alongside nursing because the Sisters have always responded attentively to the signs of the times, and have asked God for guidance, as well as their hearts. So today, our international Congregation also includes high school and kindergarden teachers, social workers, doctors and lawyers.

What unites all these activities is the inner attitude of “bringing Christ’s healing presence to the people” in the footsteps of St. Francis, as outlined in our mission statement. In other words, our goal is to bring God’s love to the people – in any way that people need it right now. This also means that we are always ready to develop further – as a Congregation, but also each of us personally.

This can be a huge challenge. For example for Sister M. Gerburg Aufderheide, who went to India in 1974 and founded the first convent there. Sister Gerburg, born in the German village of Ennigerloh in 1935. As tradition required, she had learned housekeeping as a young girl, then she became a kindergarten teacher and became a nurse after entering the convent.

In India, she was able to draw on these qualifications when setting up a medical and nursing care center. What she hadn’t reckoned with was that people brought her children – babies and toddlers, found in the garbage or on train tracks, left to die, because no one wanted them. Sister Gerburg took these children in and raised them, later ensuring their education and, in due course, finding suitable marriage partners for them – tasks that would traditionally have fallen to the parents. This way, she saved 27 girls and boys.

At the same time, Sister Gerburg laid the foundations for our first convent in India, starting in 1979 with four Indian candidates. She continued to provide nursing care and also served as the housekeeper, driver and handywoman in the young community. Communicating in English and Hindi was difficult, the climate was strange, and so were the symptoms of the illnesses. “Fortunately, I liked the hot climate from the beginning,” says Sister Gerburg, who will turn 90 in the fall, “but I had to learn from scratch how to treat snakebites.”

Today, in our Indian Province, almost 100 Sisters live in 17 convents in seven federal states, and a hospital has just been opened at the very place where Sister Gerburg began her work more than 50 years ago. Sister Gerburg’s example shows me how much each and every one of us can achieve when our hearts are open to being an instrument of God’s love in our contact with people. Even if it might not be the snake bites that we have to heal, but our relationship with God and the people around us.

By Sister M. Hiltrud Vacker and Claudia Berghorn

This article was published online and in print in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in March 2025.

Pilgrims of Hope (2): Democracy

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in February: Hope for Democracy.

Democracy is a topic currently much debated, and it is a very complex one. To approach it, it may help to ask: What would I miss without democracy? What would we all miss without our constitution? Imagine, for example, that we did not have Article 4 of our Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of belief and conscience. (The Article states: “The undisturbed practice of religion is guaranteed.”)

The lack of this freedom of belief is at the core of the history of our international Congregation as it affected our founder, Father Christopher Bernsmeyer. When Napoleon’s troops occupied Muenster in 1811, they closed the Franciscan monastery so that Father Christopher lost both his home and his brotherly community. Ultimately, he found a new home in Telgte near Muenster, where he founded our Congregation in 1844.

Throughout our history, we have faced political obstacles. 150 years ago, the Kulturkampf raged in Prussia and the 1875 laws threatened the existence of religious Orders including ours in Muenster. Fortunately, our Superior welcomed the request of Bishop Peter Baltes of Alton, Illinois, to send Sisters to America to care for the sick. In October 1875, 20 of our Sisters journeyed from Münster without knowledge of the English language or the American culture but with hope for democracy and freedom in the service of God. That hope was realized immediately after their arrival when they founded four hospitals and shortly after they founded the first Catholic nursing school in the United States of America. The following years saw the founding of other healthcare ministries throughout the United States and abroad. This year, we are celebrating 150 years of presence in the United States together with nearly 13,000 employees who provide care to nearly two million people annually through 13 hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin. We thank God for democracy.

The Sisters in our Polish Province also suffered political persecution. As early as 1848, some of our Sisters went from Muenster to Silesia to care for the victims of a typhoid epidemic. After the epidemic, they stayed on, building an orphanage and hospitals – the groundstones of a new Province. However, after World War II, the communist authorities confiscated these hospitals and expelled our Sisters. While many members of other congregations serving in the area were sent to labor camps, our Sisters escaped this terrible fate because their Provincial Superior was a Dutch citizen who placed the Provincial Motherhouse under the protection of the Dutch queen. Nevertheless, religious life behind the Iron Curtain was difficult, and the General Superiors from Muenster were unable to travel to the Silesian-Polish Province for 35 years.

Democracy is our responsibility!

Today, in democratic Europe, two Polish Sisters work in the international General Administration in Muenster. Two other Sisters come from India, officially the world’s largest democracy with 1.4 billion people. The Indian constitution guarantees equality before the law, and non-discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, gender and origin. However, according to “Open Doors”, India is in tenth place on the world persecution index, overtaking North Korea. This reveals that the core of a healthy democracy lies not only in its institutional structures, but also in the way people treat each other, and in the ability to appreciate diversity, interculturality, and differences.

This is also what we experience within the democratic structure of our Congregation: Both the Provincial Leadership and the international General Leadership are elected by the members of the Order for a limited term of office. The most recent election was held during the international General Chapter in September 2024 when delegates from all the countries in which our Sisters live and work gathered in Muenster.

Democracy is our responsibility. Our freedom depends on our commitment to it, both privately and in Church and society. That is why we as German Hospital Sisters will go and vote in the German General Election on February 23. And this is why we encourage you to use your right to vote as well, wherever you are and whenever you can. Just think about what you might miss – without our democracy.

By Sister M. Margarete Ulager and Claudia Berghorn

This article was published online and in print in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in February 2025.

The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis also participated in the Diocese of Muenster’s Campaign for Democracy, “Live Freedom”. On February 7, 2025, General Councilor Sister M. Hiltrud Vacker joined representatives of St. Francis Foundation to spray the campaign logo onto a fence around the building site for the future St. Francis Health Academy and Nursing School.