Sister Maria Beatrix

Sister Maria Beatrix                   ND 5068                        PDF Download

Deonille BAUMSTARK

Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld, Germany

Date and Place of Birth:                    30 August 1930           Malcoci /Rumania
Date and Place of Profession:          01 August 1961            Mülhausen
Date and Place of Death:                  06 March 2024            Mülhausen, Haus Salus
Date and Place of Funeral:               11 March 2024             Mülhausen, Convent Cemetery

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.“ Mt 25:40

Deonille was the oldest of the 4 children born to Johannes and Filomina Baumstark. Sister Maria Beatrix explained that her ancestors emigrated to Rumania to build a new life.

First, Deonille attended the local basic primary and secondary school. Due to the turmoil of war, the then German government ordered them “to come home to the Reich “. An odyssey began that lasted 7 years, during which the family was housed in various camps including in Germany, the Sudetenland, Poland, and the Ucraine. There Deonille attended school sporadically when it was possible. During these years, the family was again and again threatened by air raids and bombing raids.

The father was separated from the family. He was in different labour camps and spent even four months in the Flossenbürg concentration camp. After that time, the family built a new home in Hüls near Krefeld on the Lower Rhine. The strength to live through that difficult time and the courage to make a new start were supported by the deep faith from which the family lived. After completing basic primary and secondary school, Deonille trained as a dressmaker, which she completed with a master’s examination. During that time, she first met the Sisters of Notre Dame. Some time later, she joined them in Mülhausen in 1958. After the novitiate, Sister Maria Beatrix trained as an educator and then she ministered in different homes and boarding schools of the then province of Mülhausen, e.g. in Kempen, Wachtendonk, and Ratingen.

In addition to this ministry, Sr. M. Beatrix dedicated herself with much love and enthusiasm to aid transports to Poland and Rumania and even  accompanied some of these transports with a co-sister. Sr. M. Beatrix remained in contact with the people in her old homeland until she was very old. In 1993, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for this life’s work.

After leaving the work in care homes and boarding schools, Sister M. Beatrix went to Grefrath in 1997 to give sewing courses and serve in the parish. In 2002, she moved to the provincial center in Mülhausen, where she worked in the sewing room. In 2013, she moved to Haus Salus. Her health, which had been ailing for many years, deteriorated in old age and caused her a lot of trouble. She had to be hospitalized again and again. She withdrew more and more into her room. All her life, Sr. Maria Beatrix remained closely connected with her family and deeply shared their joys and sorrows. She also stayed in close contact with many of her former boarders and some teachers from Ratingen. During these last weeks, her condition deteriorated so that she completely depended on help and care.

Around midday on March 6, God took her home into the comfort of his presence.