Sister Maria Waltraud 

Sister Maria Waltraud       ND 6257        PDF Download

Brigitte Schütte

Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld, Germany

Date and Place of Birth:              24 October 1942          Lichtendorf-Geisecke/Ruhr
Date and Place of Profession:   24 March 1966             Vechta
Date and Place of Death:            04 December 2019      Vechta, St. Marienhospital
Date and Place of Funeral:         10 December 2019      Vechta, Convent cemetery

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. (2 Cor 12:9a)

Sister Maria Waltraud herself wrote the following obituary:

“On 16 March 2019, I, Sister Maria Waltraud, née Brigitte Schütte, wrote down my life story as follows:

On 24 October 1942, I was born in Lichtendorf, County Iserlohn. My parents are Heinrich and Waltraud Schütte, née Wiegand. I have three younger siblings: Wilhelm, Magdalena, and Gudrun.

In August 1963, I followed God’s call and entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Marienhain (Vechta). On 24 March 1966, I made my first vows in Vechta and on 18 March 1972 my final profession in Rome.

My limitations and the fragility of my existence proved to be a ‘gateway for God’. This experience has given me a kind of ‘liberation,’ I can dare to accept my life because God lives it with me.

It is out of this conviction that I have tried to live. God loves me the way I am, with my strengths and weaknesses, with my limitations and abilities. I wanted to serve and please Him. The knowledge that God is with me has made me accept tasks which were difficult for me (e.g. at school).

After my retirement, I have done voluntary work for several years (taking care of inmates and refugees). I have loved this work; it has filled me with joy.

There have been many dark hours in my life. – The bitter experiences of darkness, sadness, and isolation have not led to despair but to the essential. – “Soli Deo Gloria!‘ There are some special lessons that my life has taught me: I achieve only very little on my own. Getting lost in activity leads to loss of inwardness. Only God gives salvation and life.

Having a mother who first thinks of others has marked my life and led it into a certain direction. The relationship to my father was my personal cross. I entrust him and myself to the mercy of our good God.

God’s Word has been for me nourishment, source of life, and light all the days of my life. The following words have been most important to me: “’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor 12: 9a)”

The good God, to whom Sister M. Waltraud had entrusted her life, brought it to a sudden end through pulmonary embolism and called her home into his Kingdom. We are grateful for her work and presence among us and we believe that she may now enjoy life in abundance with God.