Sister Maria Sophie

Sister Maria Sophie               ND 4317           PDF Download
Helena Elisabeth Maria Pijnenburg

Regina Virginum Delegation, Tegelen, The Netherlands

Date and Place of Birth             July 13, 1924         Helmond, The Netherlands
Date and Place of Profession  January 04, 1951  Tegelen, The Netherlands
Date and Place of Death          June 03, 2016        Tegelen, The Netherlands
Date and Place of Funeral       June 07, 2016        Tegelen, The Netherlands

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.  Psalm 84 

After a short time of being bedridden the Lord called Sister Maria Sophie in the early hours of June 3 to share in his eternal joy. Sister reached the high age of almost 92 years. She had a rich and fruitful life.

Sister Maria Sophie grew up in the industrial city of Helmond with her 4 brothers and 5 sisters. After graduating from school she held an office job in a big factory in Vlissingen where her father was the manager. She really liked working there.

It is in this city that she came to know the Sisters of Notre Dame. She joined the Congregation in 1948. Sister Maria Sophie had a joyful personality and enjoyed a joke. She always gave a striking answer. That did not change till the end, even when her strength was less.

After her profession she was trained as a teacher. She taught for 34 years in primary school and was also the principal. She spent the longest time teaching in Hoensbroek. Full of devotion she gave herself totally for the children that were entrusted to her care.

After her career as a teacher and principal she helped out in the parish in Hoensbroek and later also in Herpen. When our present bishop was still the parish priest in Hoensbroek, she took care of his mother who lived with him.

Sister Maria Sophie will always remain in our memory as a joyful religious with plenty of humor and great punch!

May she, after her well spent life, rest in peace.