Sister M. Margret Steggemann

I grew up as the oldest of three girls in Stadtlohn, a small town in the beautiful Münsterland. Before and during the World War II, it housed many weaving and spinning mills.

When I was born in 1944, my hometown was a heap of ruins. This sight was quite normal for me, especially when I started school, as I didn’t know it any other way. In fact, playing in the debris was actually interesting for a child.

For my parents however, great worries and hardships soon followed.  My mother fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis after her second child was born. I can only remember small moments with her. Due to her death, my sister and I were separated. For about one year we lived with our grandparents. I lived with my mother’s parents, and my sister lived with my father’s parents. Soon, after my mother’s death in 1949, my father’s younger sisters took care of us.

My father’s parents’ house had been badly damaged during the war. Nevertheless, several families lived there. We also lived there temporarily. It was a very difficult time for my father and the rest of the family.

However, I don’t remember it being particularly burdensome to me. There were still three children my age at my grandmother’s house and we could play together. Especially “Aunt Toni”, Papas sister-in-law, always had an open ear.

Soon after my mother’s death, I started school, which was very hard for me. My father and sisters worried a lot because I didn’t want to go to school and often fell ill. 

Then my father married a second time. I got along with my second mother very well. Sadly, she already died in 1969. I had to be strong for my sister, who was six years younger than me.

After school, I wanted to learn a profession. I would have liked to become a dressmaker. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a certificate for my visual impairment.

In 1958, the newly built hospital in Stadtlohn urgently sought staff to work at the entrance and in the wards. I immediately was drawn to this job, because I wanted to help the sick people. My mother accompanied me to the hospital, to talk to Sister Superior; and that’s how I became a staff member. In the first years, I often thought that I would never want to lead such a strict life as the sisters did.

I enjoyed taking part in all the festivities that were held in Stadtlohn and the surrounding area. That was not not necessarily viewed favorably by the Sisters.

After a few years, I realized how important proper nursing education was, so I enrolled in the local nursing school. But then, everything took an unexpected turn. An inner voice – the voice of God – called out to me, asking for my complete commitment to Him. I found no peace. After much deliberation and discussion with pastors and religious sisters, I requested admission to the Congregation of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Münster – without completing my nursing exam. My family was shocked, especially my older sister, but my mother supported me and eventually persuaded my father as well.

I arrived in Münster Mauritz on August 15, 1964. I began the usual religious formation, including the postulancy and novitiate periods. Sixteen women joined our Congregation that year. Our group was very active, and we shared a lot of fun and lively moments together.

The preparation period for the first profession of vows in 1967 was marked by a deep inner struggle: “Is this the path God is calling me to follow? Can this be a decision for a lifetime?”  During this time I experienced God’s guidance very intensely.

After making my first profession of vows in 1967, I entered the juniorate period, during which I obtained my intermediate secondary school certificate, completed my nursing exam, and gained practical experience at our St. Francis Hospital. Following several years of work in healthcare, I pursued further education to become a director of nursing. After passing the required exam, I assumed the role of head nurse in various hospitals.

Bidding farewell to the ‘care directly at the patient’s bedside’ became exceedingly difficult for me. Therefore, I was glad to be asked to assume the director’s ministry at Elizabeth Hospice in Datteln. It was the best time in my professional life.

After more than four years, I was appointed to the board of directors of the Order’s own hospitals. Here I was able to pass on a lot of my experience, especially to our nursing staff.

In 2005, I was elected to the Provincial Council. Later, after four years as a Provincial Councilor, it was my wish to go to Berlin to support Sr. M. Juvenalis and Sr. M. Hannelore in their work for people suffering from AIDS. It was my chance to work here in Berlin as a pastoral care worker in the Caritas Hospice Berlin, which just opened.

After almost 10 years, at the age of 75, I retired from my active ministry but I continue to volunteer at the TAUWERK hospice service and at the Caritas Hospice Berlin.

I thank God for each day of life He has given me and that I can still share His graces with full hands.