Visits to Tegelen and Mülhausen

October 14, 2022

Thursday, October 13, found the Chapter members boarding two busses for Mülhausen, Germany, and Tegelen, the Netherlands at 8:45 a.m. The first bus went to Mülhausen and the second bus went to Tegelen, only 30 minutes apart. In Mülhausen we received a warm welcome from several sisters. This much beloved and historical site in the Congregation (the 3^rd Motherhouse in the Congregation) had to be sold this year to another group that continues to run a school and Kindergarten on the site. We were able to see the gardens and historic buildings that were home to so many of our German sisters over the years. We also visited Haus Salus, an elder care facility now owned and operated by an outside organization and still home to about 35 of our sisters and other lay people. While it was a brief visit, we enjoyed connecting with our sisters who live there. The last stop was the historic cemetery, the final resting place for many of our German sisters. Everyone agreed that the opportunity to once more reconnect with the early years in the Congregation’s history and the visit with our sisters are memories to cherish.

Both buses met at lunchtime at a local pancake house for a delicious treat of savory and sweet German pancakes. Cherry, apple, bacon and cheese, and chicken in the cream sauce were among the favorites!

The other visit of the day was with our sisters in Tegelen in the Netherlands. Several of the 13 sisters of the Tegelen local community greeted us. After going to the Chapel and singing Holy God in many languages, we assembled in the dining room and enjoyed wonderful cakes and candies. Each sister received a delicious Dutch chocolate bar and a small pair of wooden shoes on a keychain at her place. The facility is owned and operated by an outside organization as a care center for the elderly and our sisters lease a section of the building as their residence. We toured the sisters’ residence and beautiful grounds, undeterred by a bit of rain. The day was marked by real joy in being together with our sisters.