Sister M. Pankratia

Born: February 14, 1939
Entrance: February 3, 1962
Professed: October 28, 1964
Died: December 31, 2025

On New Year’s Eve 2025, the good and merciful God took our Sister by the hand and ended the earthly life of Sister M. Pankratia, née Maria Strüwe, Hospital Sister of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis.

“My time is in your hands.”

(Psalm 31:17)

Maria Strüwe joined our Congregation in Münster from Bawinkel in Lower Saxony, about 100 kilometers to the north. Like all the Sisters, she passed her nursing exam. From 1967 to 1974, she worked in the infectious diseases ward of the newly founded St. Bernhard Hospital in Kamp-Lintfort. She then returned to the Motherhouse and found professional fulfillment as a seamstress, working in the Motherhouse sewing room for 51 years.   During that time, she witnessed several changes, including alterations to our religious habit, a relocation from the old sewing room to the present place, and changes among her fellow Sisters and colleagues.

Sister M. Pankratia was a constant presence with her calm and proper manner, always available to everyone. Until her sudden death, she was responsible for the Sisters’ veils. Sadly, she was unable to complete her last orders and did not have the opportunity to hand over her workplace and say goodbye. We are very grateful to her for everything she did for us.

Sister M. Pankratia was constant and persistent in her prayers. She never missed community prayer, and she served as prayer leader for several years. However, she never made a big deal of this; she simply got on with it.

On the Sunday after Christmas, she had a bad fall in her room in the afternoon, suffering a brain hemorrhage from which she never recovered. Three days later, she passed away at Clemens Hospital in Münster.

Sister M. Pankratia has found the last few years increasingly difficult due to her declining hearing. This made her feel lonely. She also missed Sister M. Gerharda, with whom she shared a close bond through their work in the sewing room. We hope that the two Sisters will meet again in Heaven.

We gratefully bid farewell to Sister M. Pankratia. As we pray and celebrate the Eucharist, we keep her in our thoughts, united with her as companion Sisters. We will celebrate the Mass of Resurrection for Sister M. Pankratia on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 2 p.m. in the Motherhouse Church in Münster.  After that, we will accompany her to her final resting place in the Sisters’ Cemetery.