Birthday Celebrations for General Superior

Münster, November 4, 2026. Today, Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the International Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis celebrated the 70th birthday of their General Superior, Sister M. Margarete Ulager. More than 150 guests gathered in Münster to congratulate Sister Margarete in person. The General Superior was particularly delighted by the good wishes and blessings from her fellow Sisters in Münster and various convents of the German Province, as well as by the video messages she received from the Congregations Provinces in Poland, India, and Japan, and from the U.S. Canonical House.

“Thanks and Blessings”: This was the theme of the Holy Mass in the Motherhouse Church in Münster, which marked the beginning of the celebrations—giving thanks for 70 fulfilling years of life and asking for God’s blessing on Sister Margarete’s journey ahead. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by three long-time companions of the General Superior: Bishop Emeritus Dr. Felix Genn, Cathedral Provost Rev. Hans-Bernd Köppen, and the Spiritual Director of the Congregation, Prof. Dr. Father Michael Plattig. After Mass, the birthday guests were invited to a reception and lunch in the refectory of the Motherhouse.

On November 4, 2026, the Catholic Church in Germany celebrates the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo (1538–1584), who, as Bishop of Milan, was particularly dedicated to caring for the poor and who impressed the people of his time with his personal humility. In his homily, Bishop Felix referred to the life of this saint and to the example of the “Good Shepherd” from the day’s reading from the Letter to the Romans. “Isn’t a Superior General, in a certain sense, also a shepherdess in the spirit of Jesus Christ?” he said. “To be the Superior of a religious community means, on the one hand, to set oneself aside for the sake of the many others, and at the same time, through one’s own existential witness, to shape the community, giving it form and character.”

The General Superior’s birthday celebration was planned as a surprise by the Sisters and the staff of the Generalate and the Motherhouse. In addition to Sister Margarete’s family and her fellow Sisters, guests included representatives from St. Francis Foundation and St. Francis Hospital, as well as numerous companions from the various personal and professional stages of her life. “That was a wonderful surprise,” Sister Margarete said happily. “Thank you so much for this lovely celebration and for all the good wishes!”

Sister M. Margarete Ulager was born in 1956 and entered the religious community of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Münster on October 19, 1978. She made her First Profession on May 1, 1981, and her Perpetual Profession on July 2, 1985—the Congregation’s founding day.

In her hometown of Bottrop, Sister Margarete attended elementary and middle school and completed an apprenticeship as a pharmacy assistant. After completing a voluntary social service year at the University Hospital of Münster, she trained as a nurse at St. Elisabeth Hospital in Ibbenbüren from 1974 to 1977, completed specialized training in intensive care medicine and anesthesia from 1986 to 1988, and received training in nursing management in 1994–95. She studied Political Science and Economics and received her Master’s degree in “Global Management” from the University of Salford in Manchester, UK, in 2018.

In the field of general and intensive care nursing, Sister Margarete first worked at the University Hospital of Münster; after entering the Congregation, she worked at St. Franziskus Hospital in Münster and St. Bonifatius Hospital in Lingen, before taking on nursing management roles in Telgte, Münster, and Ahaus. In service to the Congregation, Sister Margarete served as Provincial Councilor for the German Province from 1997 to 2001 and as General Treasurer from 2002 to 2018. On September 14, 2018, she was elected General Superior of the International Congregation and was re-elected for a second term at the General Chapter in Münster in September 2024.

Photos: Michael Kestin