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Volume III Issue No.1 January-February 2015
Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Casa Santo Spirito,
00163 Via dei Bevilacqua 60, Rome Italy
“Wherever the stream flows, it will bring life.” (Ez. 47:9c)
NORFOLK. The Norfolk Priory held its Election Chapter on January
2-3. Sr. Lumen Gloria Dungca, Vicaress General, and Sr. Caridad
Choi, General Councilor, conducted the chapter on January 2-3.
Sisters re-elected Sr. Pia Portmann for a three-year term .
Sr. Pia, who has been a great spiritual leader for the Norfolk
Sisters during her first term, is Swiss-born, German educated,
Africa missioned, and called to the USA. She was in Peramiho for 12
years as pri-oress and in Norfolk for 5 years also as Prioress.
This represents 17 years living in African and American Culture.
Sr. Pia is a model of Inter-cultural living, an example of balance
and ener-gy for our “9-nationality” priory. By: Sr. Carol Ann
Clark, OSB
TORRES NOVAS. The Ibe-rian Priory held its Elec-tion Chapter
January 9 – 10. M. Angela Strobel pre-sided over the chapter in
which the Sisters from three different countries belonging to this
Priory re-elected Sr. Timótea Kronschnabl for a second term of
three years.
Sr. Timótea was sent to Sorocaba, Brazil in 1966 as a Junior
Sister. In 1979 she was elected Prioress of Tutzing for two terms.
She returned to Sorocaba as Subprioress and local superior. For 9
years she was in Argentina as Regional Superior before being
elected Prioress of the Iberian Pri-ory in 2010. Sr. Timótea with
her manifold expe-rience of leadership in different countries
contin-ues to facilitate growth in the Iberian Priory com-posed of
Portugal, Madrid and Angola. By: Sr. Regina Tesch, OSB
Sr. Pia Sr. Timótea
M. Angela handing the election document to Sr. Ruth
SR. RUTH INSTALLED PRIORESS
M. Angela Strobel installed on February 8 Sr. Ruth Schönenberger
as Prioress Tutzing . Al-so present during the installation was Sr.
Caridad Choi.
In behalf of the Generalate, M. Angela thanked Sr. Hildegard
Jansing for the eight years of service she rendered as prioress.
Sr. Hildegard will proceed to Norfolk and stay there for three
months after taking the rest she needs. Likewise, M. Angela wished
Sr. Ruth a good continuation of the work began. She enjoined all
the sisters to live and work as a community for “this is a task and
witness to the people of our time.”
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P a g e 2
As part of the year-long celebration of the congregation’s 130th
Jubilee and the Year of Consecrated Life, the Lifestream will
continue to feature the living and deceased blood sisters of the
con-gregation in the succeeding issues.
NORFOLK
LEICK SISTERS Sr. Frances Sr. Germaine Sr. Paula + 1954
+1977
EWARTZ SISTERS Sr. Mary Placid , Sr. Josephine
+1962
SALBER SISTERS Sr. Anella Sr. Agnes +2006
MEET THE
POLT SISTERS Sr. Cecilia & Sr. Andrea (Ndanda)
ROTTINGHAUS SISTERS
Sr. Pia Sr. Michael Marie
(Nairobi)
PORTUGAL
RIEDL SISTERS
Sr. Consilia Sr. Anne Sr. Bernolda
+1967 Tutzing +2008 Norfolk +2009 Windhoek
MOREIRA SISTERS
Sr.Ma. Goretti & Sr. Idalina
+2001
ZAHNBRECHER SISTERS
Sr. Monica & Sr. Gotthelma
(Bernried)
WAGNER SISTERS
Sr. Aniana Sr. Erminolda
(Tutzing)
KORFF SISTERS M. Birgitta Sr. Eusebia +1929 +1904 Tutzing
Tutzing
SOROCABA
BASSINI SISTERS
Sr. Ma.Elvira , Sr. Judith
+ 1988
BASTIANELLO SISTERS
Sr. Ma. Das Sr. Edita
Graças + 2000
BAPTISTELA SISTERS
Sr. Assumpta & Sr. Maria
da Gloria (+2009 )
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P a g e 3 V o l u m e I I I , I s s u e 1
February 7- The Tacloban Hospital of the Manila Priory
celebrated its 50 years of foundation. The founding members are now
back in Germany - Sr. Alesia Beer and Sr. Venantia Göbel at Haus
St. Benedikt. Sr. Mary Birkemeyer resides at the mother house in
Tutzing.
February 10 - Sr. Macrina Oh, Sr. Marie Enoch Kim, Sr. Deborah
Yu and Sr. Marie Sohwa Yun made their final profession during the
eucharis-tic celebration held at the Daegu Priory Chapel.
1. January 11—Sr. Karolina Pasek from Ndan-da to Bulgaria
2. January 14—Sr. Hilda Buhay from Manila to Jinja
3. January 14—Sr. Lioba Yang from Peramiho to Ndanda
SOROCABA
MOURA SISTERS
Sr. Gloria & Sr. Terezinha
CAMPOS SISTERS
Sr. Anisia & Sr.Ledia
SABADINI SISTERS
Sr. Ma. Helena & Sr. Lourdes
4. February 4—Sr. Maria Paula Mwendjilile from Windhoek to
Argentina
5. February 6—Sr. Consorcia Rodela from Ma-nila to Angola
6. February 15—Sr. Cecil Jo from Daegu to Rome
1
From l-r: Sr. Macrina,Sr. Marie Enoch , Sr. Debora , Sr. Marie
Sohwa , Sr. Zeno Sagong (Junior mistress)
Sr. Kunigundis Amon served as general econome from 2001–
February 2015. She is re-placed by Sr. Maria Ignatius Glasser who
just finished her term of eight years as Prioress of Windhoek.
TO
Sr.Kunigundis Sr. Maria Ignatius
2 3 4 5 6
Golden Jubilee of Tacloban Hospital
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P a g e 4
Sisters from Tacloban joyfully await the arrival of Pope Francis
despite the heavy rain.
PHILIPPINES Pope Francis visited the Philippines from Janu-ary
15-19. He relates, “My visit to the Philippines was a sign of
solidarity with all those affected by Typhoon Yolanda. In Tacloban
we cel-
ebrated our hope in the mercy of God. In Manila I asked families
to cherish and protect the family in its fundamental role in
society and in God’s plan. At my meeting with young people, I
challenged them to build a society of integrity and compassion for
the poor. At the conclusion of my visit, I commended the Filipino
people to their patron and protector, the Christ Child, and urged
them to persevere in their precious witness to the Gospel on the
great continent of Asia.”
The Vatican's spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, said that papal
history was made dur-ing the Pope’s closing mass at the Luneta with
6 to 7 million people in attendance, calling it the "largest event
of the history of the Popes." Sr. Ana Ma. Raca, the superior of the
Tacloban Hospital reminisces, “Despite an an-nouncement of a storm
Pope Francis decided to fly to Tacloban on January 17 to be with
the survivors of typhoon Yolanda. Amidst heavy rains and strong
winds, an estimated 200,000 rain-soaked faithful who waited for
long hours at the airport welcomed his arrival with jubilation. In
his homily, he told the people that when he saw from Rome the
catastrophe, he felt that he had to be there and decided to come.
He did away with his prepared homily and spoke from his heart,
God’s heart! There was not a dry eye when he assured the people
that “Jesus is Lord and the Lord from the cross is there for
you.”
Demarest Visit
From L-R: Sr. Caridad, Sr. Regina, Sr. Philippa, Sr.Hasang, Sr.
Jin-I and Sr. Lumen Gloria
DEMAREST, NEW JERSEY Sr. Lumen Gloria Dungca and Sr. Caridad
Choi made an official visitation to the Demarest community
belonging to the Seoul Priory from January 8-15. The community
ministers to the Korean migrants. It is headed by Sr. Philippa
Cheong who works with Sr. Jin-I Kim at the St. Joseph’s Parish,
Demarest, New Jersey. Sr. Ha-sang Chong and Sr. Regina Kwon do
their aposto-late at the St. Francis of Assisi Church in
Manhat-tan, New York.
During the visitation Sr. Caridad gave the opening and closing
conference.
TOGO
Sr.Lumen (l) and Sr. Salete (r)during their Togo visit
Sr. Lumen Gloria Dungca and Sr. Maria Salete da Rocha visited
the Fraternite Monastique Immaculee Concepcion da Kazaboua in Togo
from February 6-14. ( cont’d to page 5 )
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V o l u m e I I I , I s s u e 1 P a g e 5
REFUGEES and HUMAN
TRAFFICKING By: Sr. Regina Tesch, OSB
In December 2014 the Generalate went to Joel Nafuma Refugee
Cen-ter to find out where cooperation could be possible. Joel
Nafuma
Refugee Center (JNRC) is a day center for refu-gees, a ministry
of St. Paul’s inside the Walls Epis-copal Church. Each weekday
200—250 refugee guests are welcomed. They are offered breakfast and
can get clothes and toiletries. They also have recreational
activities. Language classes, legal as-sistance and art or
psychotherapy assist the refu-gee guests in their situation.
Since January Sr. Antoinette with the 7 Junior Sisters have been
going there every week to help with the distribution of breakfast
and to be with them. The refugees reveal their touching stories and
express their appreciation of being with the Sisters.
Meeting with JNRC Volunteers
From L-R: Volunteers William and Daniela, Sr. Caridad,
Sr. Salete, Sr. Regina, Sr. Lumen and Sr. Antoniette
Togo (from page 4)
A community of women while still study-ing in college in 1992
felt a strong call to come together and live and pray as a
community. Eve-ry Friday they would go to the Benedictine Monks of
St. Ottilien in Agbang, Kara, Togo to seek spiritual help from Fr.
Boniface Tiguila, the first prior of the monastery. As students
they lived in a small house where they prayed togeth-er. This house
in Kara was offered for free by the father of one of the young
women. When they all finished their studies , they looked for a
more spacious place which served as a prayer room, a study room, a
dining room, kitchen and a sleeping room all rolled into one. Their
parents were very supportive that they would provide them food and
their other needs.
They chant their office vibrantly with the accompaniment of a
native instrument, kurah.
An added spiritual father to them is Bish-op Djoliba Ambroise of
Sokodé in the ecclesiastical province of Lomé in Togo.
Sr. Aquinata Böckmann stayed with them for one week from the
last days of December 1996 over the new year of 1997. She
introduced them to various forms of monastic life.
To date they have four perpetually pro-fessed sisters, a novice,
two postulants and eight
live-out aspirants.
No longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters In his message for
theWorld Day of Peace on January 1 Pope Francis talked about Human
Trafficking as a modern form of slavery. On Janu-ary 21 the Justice
and Peace group of UISG met to share about this topic.
After a prayer service for the victims and violators we were in
two short videos confronted with the painful fact of human
trafficking. Peo-ple are forced into labor in agriculture, mining
and fighting, prostitution and all kind of sexual abuse. Another
increasing form of human traf-ficking is for organ removal. Many of
the victims are women and children. In a sharing we heard the some
touching experiences from the group. (useful website for further
information: www.talithakum.info)
INDIA By: Sr. Ma. Gratia Balagot, OSB
Mr. and Mrs. Jo-seph Wiederkehr in the company of Rt. Rev. Dr. M
i e c z y s l a w Mockrzyckit, a Polish and who was the former
second Secretary of Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedikt and now
an archbishop in Ukraine, came to Punalur on Janu-ary 26. They
visited the projects that are being financed by the Wiederkehr
family, among them the parish school which was blessed on January
25. The archbishop celebrated an Italian mass in the chapel with
the community .
Arch. Mockrzyckit with the Wiederhekrs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Regionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokod%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Lom%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togo
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Sr. Lidwina Wurm, OSB, 87, died in Tutzing on December 21,
2014.
Sr. Bertwina Caesar, OSB, 100, died in Daegu on December 29,
2014.
Sr. Conceição de Castro Ferreira, OSB, 80, died in Sorocaba on
January 10.
Sr. Johanna Plitzko, OSB, 90, died in Gross-hadern/Munich on
February 7.
LEAVING WINTER BEHIND
By: Sr. Elizabeth Uhing, OSB (Norfolk)
The cold bite of winter is put to sleep The ancient rites of
old
Are beginning their rituals Ever so new
The morning sun warming the earth Calling forth the
daffodils
Each by name To waken the earth with their mighty trumpets
Consistency, sweetness, and briskness Of their affirmative
report
Is heard as the blades of new life come forth After a long
winter sleep
Blade by blade, bud by bud Ever playing the haunting music of
old
The bleeding heart is given to the lonely of heart The sunflower
is for the joyous of heart
With a song in their soul Your days are not lonely
Bees come to absorb your nectar Cooling your being with the fans
of their wings
Oh! If we had the soul of a child So innocent and pure
We would also hear the ancient music of old
WISDOM CONNECTIONS: TIMELESS
TRADITION – TECHNOLOGICAL TIMES By :Sr. Gabrielle Marie
Oestreich, OSB
Capturing the wisdom to enhance the formation of new members to
Benedictine com-munities is the goal of the collaborative project:
Wisdom Connections: Timeless Traditions – Technological Times,
entered upon by the American Benedictine Prioresses. A grant from
the GHR Foundation, awarded to the Sisters of St. Benedict of
Ferdinand, Indiana is providing needed resources to make the vision
a reality.
This pilot program, which kicked off in January 2015 involves 19
Benedictines from across the three Federations and two
Congrega-tions in the United States as the project team. Our
sister, Sr. Gabrielle Marie Oestreich from Norfolk, joins three
other Novice Directors, as members of the “Content Committee”. The
com-mittee is responsible for identifying curriculum areas for all
stages of initial formation, identify-ing potential presenters with
special emphasis initially on the elder experts, and contacting and
inviting these presenters.
The primary purpose of the project is
twofold: First to augment the formation pro-
grams of the individual monasteries with the
wisdom of Benedictine experts and spiritual
leaders. Second, to develop relationships among
the new members through on-line, facilitated
conversations and discussions so they may deep-
en their connection with one another. Maxim-
izing new technologies this three year project
aims to focus initially on capturing the wisdom
of the numerous elder Benedictine scholars and
spiritual guides and make these available
through an internet source.
Sr. Juliann Babcock, Sr. Marie Therese Long,Sr. Ann Louise
Frederick, Sr. Gabrielle Marie, Sr. Pat Nyquis
A BLESSED
The GENERALATE