{"id":6569,"date":"2025-07-02T14:14:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generalat-hsosf.de\/?p=6569"},"modified":"2025-07-14T15:02:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T13:02:35","slug":"pilgrims-of-hope-6-understanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generalat-hsosf.de\/en\/pilgrims-of-hope-6-understanding\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilgrims of Hope (6): Understanding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pilgrims of Hope (6): Understanding<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The series \u201cPilgrims of Hope\u201d is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication \u201cKirche und Leben\u201d (\u201cChurch+Life\u201d). Our topic in June: Hope for Understanding.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recently celebrated the birth of the Church at Pentecost. Every year, the text of the Gospel fascinates us anew: The Disciples had gathered together in fear and had hid themselves. Then the Holy Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire, encouraging and inspiring them. The Disciples began to preach, and the miracle happened: \u201cEveryone heard them speaking in their own language.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reference makes it clear that language has always been of great importance for proclaiming the Good News, first in the multi-ethnic state of Israel, which at that time belonged to the Roman Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis of Assisi, our patron saint, and the Brothers of his community would probably have wished for such a Pentecost miracle at times. They were filled with the desire to spread the message of Jesus throughout the world, and to bear witness to it through their simple life according to the Gospel, in the service of God and the people. Even during the saint’s lifetime, they set out from Assisi to the whole world, mostly in pairs or small groups. But their faith and courage were clearly greater than their knowledge of the world, so that some of their missionary journeys failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the case in 1219, for example, when about 60 brothers crossed the Alps into what is now Germany without speaking the language. They were asked if they needed shelter and food. They tried answering “Ja!” (\u201cyes\u201d) and were welcomed kindly. The Brothers decided to answer every question with \u201cJa!\u201d from then on. Were they heretics? \u201cJa!\u201d they replied, and were astonished to be chased away with insults and shame. A failed but instructive encounter. When the Brothers crossed the Alps again two years later, their mission was successful thanks to careful preparation and better language skills: with their settlement in Augsburg in 1221, the history of the Franciscans in Germany began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Statue of St. Francis in Assisi (Photo: Kestin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Language has always been very important to us Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. This was already the case in 1875, when 20 of our young Sisters went to the USA \u2013 trained nurses without any knowledge of English, who initially mainly cared for German immigrants. After a short time, they found the language barrier so hindering to their work that they studied English alongside primary school children. Their new language skills helped them to establish the American Province, to found hospitals, and to set up the first Catholic nursing school in the USA. Of course, it also helped them to proclaim their faith. During further missions in Europe, East Asia, Africa, and India, our Sisters were repeatedly confronted with the task of communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, 500 Hospital Sisters of St. Francis live in our international Congregation worldwide. The diversity of nations, languages, and cultures is both a great treasure and a great challenge. We have chosen English as the common language that unites us\u2014although it is a foreign language for most of our Sisters! This is also true for our Polish Sister, Sr. M. Teresa Wawrovicz. \u201cAt school, I was more interested in maths,\u201d says the 36-year-old. She studied financial management and accounting and worked as Provincial Treasurer in the Polish province since 2019 before being elected General Councilor at the General Chapter in M\u00fcnster in September 2024. She immediately realized that she would need to improve her language skills for her new responsibilities in the international leadership of the Congregation. She has been living in Dublin since the beginning of the year to learn English for six months. As soon as she returns to M\u00fcnster, she will start learning German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Polish Sisters studying language and culture in Ireland, from the left: Sister M. Katarzyna, General Councilor Sister M. Teresa and Sister M. Dominika<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Leaving for Dublin, Jan. 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Studying English together<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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From learning to understanding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For us, studying languages is not just about understanding the content, but also about intercultural understanding. This is an important skill for the future that we have incorporated into the training program for the young Sisters in our community. Sr. M. Katarzyna and Sr. M. Dominka, two more Sisters from the Polish Province, are now also learning English in Ireland; as Europeans, they do not need a visa there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of three of our young Vietnamese Sisters from our Japan Province, it was difficult to obtain one-year visas for Germany. Sr. M. Hilary Nguyen, Sr. M. Josepha Bui, and Sr. M Angela Hoang are currently living with us in the German Motherhouse. They will spend six months learning German in Muenster, after which they will go to Malta to learn English. They were accompanied on their long journey to Germany by Sister Maria Fidelis Furukawa, Provincial Superior of our Japan Province, and Japanese Provincial Councilor Sister M. Vianney Kawaguchi. Incidentally, their first foreign language when they entered our religious community was Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the left: Japanese Provincial Superior Sister Maria Fidelis Furukawa and Provincial Councilor Sister M. Vianney Kawaguchi with the Vietnamese Sisters Sr. M. Angela Hoang, Sr. M. Hilary Nguyen, Sr. M. Josepha Bui (Photo: Kestin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Enjoying the garden at the Motherhouse in Muenster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our common language – an investment into our future!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The language that unites our community is important not only for our personal contact, but also for our spiritual life. \u201cFirst I learned the prayers and the liturgy in English,\u201d reports Sister Teresa. Because religious life is about relationships \u2013 relationships with God, with our fellow sisters, and with all the people we meet. Intercultural competence promotes our tolerance and understanding, wherever we are and whatever we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Sister M. Rita Edakkoottathil<\/em> and Claudia Berghorn<\/em>
Photos: Michael Kestin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life)<\/a>, in June 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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