Sister Maria Stanislaus

Sister Maria Stanislaus                     ND 4263                    PDF Download

Anna SCHILLERS

Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld, Germany

Date and Place of Birth:              July 26, 1926        Klein-Hesepe, Kreis Meppen
Date and Place of Profession:     April 03, 1951       Ahlen
Date and Place of Death:            March16 ,2024     Coesfeld, Kloster Annenthal
Date and Place of Funeral:          March 21, 2024    Coesfeld, Convent Cemetery

“My life is that simple: giving, always giving”.

These few words, taken from her personal documents, characterise the long life of our Sister Maria Stanislaus.

Anna Schillers was the third of the eight children born to Hermann Schillers and his wife Anna, who were farmers. After attending basic elementary and secondary school from 1933 to 1941, Anna stayed in her parental home for six years to help her mother in the house and on the farm. After that, she became an apprentice cook with our sisters in Meppen for one year. In her curriculum vitae Anna writes, “Already in the first few months I had the desire to become a religious woman and I used the remaining months to deepen this wish”. After this year in Meppen, Anna first returned to her parents’ farm.

On March 25, 1949, she began her novitiate in Mülhausen and received the name Sister Maria Stanislaus. Two of her sisters followed her: Sr. Maria Bernardette and Sr. Hermgard Maria, who passed away in Kloster Annenthal in 1989. After her first profession in Ahlen in 1951, Sr. Maria Stanislaus was assigned to various houses of our congregation. To the question in her personal data sheet, “What have you studied to make yourself useful in the congregation?” she answered, “Gardening and housework. And I am looking forward to it“.

Some months after her final vows in Rome in 1956, her ministry in the motherhouse in Rome began. She performed this task with all her heart, always ready to give her best. Sr. Maria Stanislaus spent more than 50 years at “Casa Madre” and it really became her home. She was mainly in charge of the laundry and the reception desk, where she had a friendly word and an open ear for everyone. Countless sisters, employees, and visitors from around the world met her and she showed great appreciation for each individual person in this community marked by cultural diversity. One of the sisters who were with her in Rome said, “Sr. Stanislaus helped wherever she could, she knew the house like no other. She enjoyed the centre of our international congregation and of the Church and she prayed much and gladly for the intentions of our congregation and the universal church”. In 1961, her biological sister, Sr. M. Bernardette, followed her to Rome. Many years of working together were given to them.

In 2007, Sr. Maria Stanislaus returned to Coesfeld. The strenuous physical labour had left its mark. It was not easy for her to say her farewell. Sr. M. Bernardette had already returned from Rome to Coesfeld in 2004. Together they could now enjoy more visits from their family with whom they had always maintained good contact and they had always shown a keen interest in news from them.

From now on, we often saw them praying the rosary together in the park. Sr. M. Stanislaus could enjoy life and every gesture of helpfulness was met with a cheerful “Thank you”. For the last few years, she lived in the nursing ward. She was in a wheelchair and dependent on the assistance of the nurses. She was lovingly cared for and looked after and until her last days, she enjoyed the trips through the park with her sister.

In the early morning, she gave her life back into the hands of God: “My life is that simple: giving, always giving“.