Diocese: Essen
Pioneers: Sisters Severine Sequeira, Violet Sequeira and Monthi Mary Martis
St Josef Convent at Hattingen, Germany was established on May 8, 1987. Even a glance at its twenty-six fruitful years in the German soil makes the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters feel thankful for the blessings obtained through the intercession of St Joseph. Fruitfulness of St Josef refers not merely to the fact of service the Sisters have been rendering to the sick and the aged, which is their primary concern, but also to the fact that St Josef Convent, the first establishment of the Congregation in Germany, has been able to open avenues to more prospects not only in Germany but also in Italy. Moreover, all of these establishments have been able to support the mission of the Kingdom in several disadvantaged and deprived areas.
Initial days at Hattingen were trying. The pioneering trio Sisters Severine Sequeira, Violet Sequeira and Monthi Mary Martis had to wrestle with weird food customs, language, weather, and culture and above all a meticulous working schedule with the sick-aged who can only demand extra from the caregivers. Learning from the pioneers’ accounts one gathers that their commitment enabled them to get acclimatized to each of these facets of their mission within a short time and that they successfully passed the litmus test. Their stay with Sisters of a local German religious Congregation named ‘Sisters of the Witnesses to the Love of Christ’, facilitated their work and stay in spite of all odds; trusting in the care of God, they bore courageously all inconveniences.
Gradually matters got better. In 2001, the Institute granted the Sisters a separate apartment in its second floor; it consisted of six spacious rooms, a chapel, a hall and a kitchen. Fr Juregen Kuhn, parish priest of Sts Peter and Paul Church of Hattingen inaugurated and blessed it. Having experienced the challenges of residing with a different religious Congregation, the Sisters considered the apartment a blessing from God in whom they had trusted all the while. An added blessing came in the form of installation of the Blessed Sacrament in the convent chapel. Fr Kuhn did the favour in 2003.
The house being equipped with modest space and facilities became a meeting point to the Sisters. Various activities of the Region came to be conducted at St Josef. They may be listed: First Superiors’ Meeting from August 4–6, 2006; Silver Jubilee of the Sisters’ existence in Germany (Hattingen) on May 19, 2012 retreats, seminars, and weekend programmes, pre-chapter study, Region Day etc. Expertise of Indian students and priests working and studying aboard is being utilized at some of these programmes. Besides these activities, St Josef accommodates student Sisters of the Region who pursue the nursing course at Evengelisch Krankanhaus which is in the vicinity of St Josef Convent. Sisters Leena Rodrigues, Celine Furtado, Josline D’Souza, Selly Mascarenhas, Roshni Monis, Monthi Fernandes and Juliet Serrao have benefitted thus far from the generosity of the Sisters at St Josef.
The arrival of visitors to the community is a frequent phenomenon; the visitors include Sisters of the Congregation, clergy from India, relatives of Sisters and priests and so on. All of these are offered the best of hospitality at St Josef Convent in spite of the Sisters’ hectic work schedule. Ever since its inception in 1987, the mission at Hattingen has flourished with able animation beginning from that of Sr Monthi Mary Martis.
In the words of the Sisters at St Josef, being true to the Legacy of St Angela Merici, “Consecration of oneself to God and to the service of fellow human beings was the primary factor in the life of St Angela and her companions”, they commit themselves to caring for the sick and the aged in their physical, spiritual and psychological need. They visit these during their hospitalization, accompany them at their deathbed and prepare them for their final departue. Accompanying the sick-aged (most of them on wheel chairs) for Eucharistic celebration and reception of communion have been regular tasks of their ministry. They are glad that they have been able to carry on fruitfully their mission amidst several barriers of learning a new language, battling with extreme cold weather, putting up with cultural shocks.... They express sincere gratitude towards everyone who has stood by them; they thank God above all for being at their side through people of goodwill. The Sisters of the Congregation too accompany them with their wishes and prayers that they continue to find the meaning of their life in the service of their needy brothers and sisters.
