Sister M. Agnelda Schulenkorf
I am born in the ‘Münsterland’ as the sixth of ten children. We lived on a small farm. It was not so easy for my parents in the post-war period. Father occasionally went peat cutting and helped on other farms.
Since my mother fell ill at an early age, we girls did not learn a profession but instead worked in the household. After completing school, I lived on a large farm for several years, where I learned housekeeping. When my sister joined the Hiltruper Missionary Sisters, I had to work at home on our farm, since my mother was ill and my sisters and brothers were still in school. Mother’s health deteriorated to the point where she regularly had to spend several weeks in the hospital.
Despite all the work, I enjoyed my youth. With neighbors and friends, we took small trips and went to festivals and celebrations in the surrounding area. I felt called to religious life at a very early age. The big question for me was ‘Where should I go?’. I put forward some insignificant reasons why I did not choose the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Hiltrup. The Franciscan Sisters were active in our hospital and I did not want to become a missionary Sisters under any circumstances. Although only one of the five religious Sisters in the hospital was sympathetic to me, I decided to join the Franciscan Sisters. At that time, I knew nothing about Franciscan life. Only later, I realized that I had been praying St. Francis ‘Canticle of the Sun‘ every Sunday after Mass. It was in the prayer book called ‘Laudate’ and I liked it very much – Coincidence or providence?
In 1965, my eldest brother married, which opened the way for my entry into the congregation. In 1965, my eldest brother married, which opened the way for my entry into the congregation. By that time, my mother was already severly ill. She died during my pre-noviciate. I entered our congregation in August 1965, and was trained as a dietician from 1970 – 1972. After completing my training, I worked in different houses as head of the kitchen for 15 years.
In 1987, the Provincial Leadership offered me training in nursing care for the elderly, which brought me great joy. I especially enjoyed liestening to the experiences, adventures and stories from the lives of the elderly. Those were years full of blessings. A vacation in Esterwegen made me curious about the history of the place and the events of that time. I felt called to live there. Since November 2015, I have indeed been living in Esterwegen, and it is a wonderful task for me. Here I have time for meeting people, conversations and prayer. I find it particularly beneficial that I can still work as far as my strength allows. I have many enriching encounters, but I am not required to achieve or perform in any specific way. I hope that this will continue for a long time.
