On Wednesday, August 29th, we drove through the gates of the Motherhouse to the welcoming waves of Reverend Mother, Sister M. Engratia (our General Vicaress) and many other Sisters. We greeted each of them individually and were led into Christ the King Church to sing "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," in German, of course. The sight of Christ the King brought tears to my eyes, as I could hardly believe that we were here.We have been able to tour the Motherhouse grounds which are very large. There are beautiful little grottos tucked here and there as well as many buildings - all of which we have not yet seen. We had a nice visit at St. Joseph's Infirmary. This picture shows us with Schwester M. Elfrede, Schwester M. Viola and Schwester M. Agnes.
We were also able to go to the Motherhouse cemetery on the first day and pray at the grave of Mother M. Anselma, our foundress, and our other former Reverend Mothers who have died. We prayed especially for our Sisters and for vocations to our Congregation, here in Germany and in America.
This is at least a beginning to explaining our adventures. We will continue to do so throughout our stay.
To answer a few of your questions from the previous post:
Most of the Sisters here speak German. We do not have a translator but we are carrying around our little dictionaries! All of the prayers are in German and we are learning them.
We wear our black American habits while we are here. The Sisters from Japan and Brazil also wear their habits, which are grey.
The Sisters from Indonesia will arrive this weekend. Then we will all be here. The guest quarters are in the Generalate, which is the building where Reverend Mother has her office. This is connected to the main convent of the Motherhouse.
We will say, "Aufwiedersehen!" for now.
Comments
You look radiant! And not the least "jet lagged."
Is Christ the King Church much larger than the one at the American Motherhouse?
Do you study German in formation to prepare you for trips such as this one, or later in your religious life? Do you have Sister from other provinces visiting or staying at the American Motherhouse very often?
In the picture is the tall Sister in all white a novice on mission? Your previous post offered a glimpse of the German Novitiate and I think I saw her there.
Do these grounds remind you of the American Motherhouse? How does the infirmary compare with the American Motherhouse..larger? simply due to the greater numbers of Sisters as can be imagined.
Is there confusion when Sisters come together who have the same name from province to province?
Doesn't the Brazil area fall under the American Motherhouse? Why are there separate formations? Language? Distance? Why different habits? Climate? Is this why there were so many different looking, habited and not, Sisters in the jubilee pictures on the link to the German Motherhouse?
So you are separated from the general population as "guests", and does that mean extra privileges for sightseeing and travel to other convents, too?
Do you have houses of formation on every continent?
How old is the oldest Sister, or in years in the Community?
Do American Sisters ever get sent/missioned/transferred to the German Motherhouse, other provinces?
The American Motherhouse founding Sisters came from Germany right?
Is there a forward looking area where the Community sees as prime area for service and evangelization and future mission? Starting another Novitiate? Or even centralizing all formation to one house?
Do Sisters in formation have an opportunity to communicate with each other in different countries? Is there a bonding of sorts for the different years in religious life? Say like the Sisters who have all been final professed this year all around the world?
If you don't know the language how will you be able to communicate in this meeting of the minds of Reverend Mother and her Sisters?
This is a fascinating voyage into your charism!
Thanks for sharing with us!