Sister Maria Veronis

Sister Maria Veronis       ND 5694    ⇒PDF Download
Thekla Kneip

Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld / Germany

Date and Place of Birth:      November 12, 1934   Korweiler, County Simmern, Germany
Date and Place of Profession: August 08, 1967     Rheinbach
Date and Place of Death:      June 18, 2015       Geldern, Hospital
Date and Place of Funeral:    June 24, 2015       Mülhausen, Convent Cemetery

Sister M. Veronis grew up on her parental farm together with her four younger brothers. Their family life was marked by deep faith, a close relationship with the community of the village, and hard farm work in the barren Hunsrück Mountains.

Thekla attended the catholic basic primary and secondary school in Korweiler and after finishing school, she helped her mother with the work on the farm. In the winter semesters 1961-1962 and 1962-1963, she completed her formation in home economics in the Heinrichhaus in Engers where she came to know and appreciate the Sisters of Notre Dame.

On October 31, 1961 she followed God’s call and started her religious formation in the then provincial center in Rheinbach. After her novitiate, she worked for three years in the house and the garden in Hennef-Happerschoss and in Rheinbach. In 1970, she was transferred to the convent in Duisburg-Laar, where she worked in the kitchen. As a cook and housekeeper she took care of that community until 2007. These years of her ministry were only interrupted by her tertiate, by an extended illness, and by her training in home economics in Paderborn.

When the community was closed in 2007, Sr. M. Veronis was transferred to Geldern where she was also in charge of the housework.

Sister M. Veronis was a very quiet sister who seldom spoke, but who could listen attentively, who sensitively reacted to the needs of her co-sisters, and whose cooking and baking skills, whose creativity and love for flowers created a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Since all her co-sisters ministered in the different nursery schools and parishes in Duisburg, Sr. M. Veronis was alone in the house most of the time but it was here where people found someone who would help them by listening to their needs, by giving good advice, by praying for them or with material assistance. She visited sick and elderly people in the parish and helped wherever help was needed.

The sisters in Geldern praised her because for her “green thumb“ in the treatment of the many orchids which grew and blossomed because of her good care and which survived even when they seemed to be dead.

Sister M. Veronis always felt closely connected with her family, whose worries and joys were part of her prayer. Visiting her home town once a year and spending her holidays in beautiful places were important to her and strengthened her in body and soul.

Her deep relationship with God characterized all her life and was a source of energy which she shared with others. It enabled her to bear her sufferings and her physical afflictions.

When she fell, she broke her lumbar vertebra, which she first tried to ignore, but which caused so much pain that she had to be admitted to the hospital in Geldern. Pneumonia and further complications led to a cardiovascular disease and finally to her death. Wide awake, fully conscious and in prayer, she quietly gave her life back into the good hands of our loving God.