Sister Josefa Maria

Born: June 8, 1934
Entrance: January 30, 1959
Professed: October 28, 1961
Died: January 4, 2026

Saint Joseph, her patron saint and the patron saint of the dying, accompanied our Sister on her journey to her eternal home in heaven, Sistesr Josefa Maria, née Josefa Meyer, Hospital Sister of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis.

Saint Joseph, we praise you, for God has chosen you to be the foster father of his son.

(Prayer from the monastic tradition)

Sister Josefa Maria, who received the name Sister Dalmatia at her investiture, later changed it and resumed her baptismal name. Saint Joseph accompanied her throughout her life. She gladly entrusted herself to him and prayed to him.

Sister Josefa Maria was born in Emstek and joined our Congregation after meeting our Sisters at Cloppenburg Hospital. Under the guidance of Sister M. Landeline, she learnt “cooking and everything else she needed to know for life”, as stated in her certificate.

After her novitiate, she completed her nursing training at St. Franziskus Hospital in Münster and subsequently worked on the women’s ward in Harsewinkel and Horstmar. Later, we encountered her in the “coffee room” on the retreat corridor of the Motherhouse, and from 2003 to 2013 in the Motherhouse library. After that, she performed small duties at St. Heriburg House while continuing to live at the Motherhouse. In 2021, she moved to St. Heriburg House as a resident and, in her final days, lived in the Clara Ward for Sisters with dementia. There, on the fourth evening of the new year 2026, she embarked on her journey to God, lovingly cared for by her fellow Sisters and staff.

We gratefully bid farewell to Sister Josefa Maria. In prayer and in the celebration of the Eucharist, we remember her and remain sisterly connected to her. Our deepest sympathy goes to Sister M. Ursula, who was able to visit her the day before her death.

On Thursday, January 8, 2026, we will bid farewell to Sister Josefa Maria at the Resurrection Mass at 2 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 at the Motherhouse.