Poor School Sisters of St. Dominic
The poor school sisters of St. Dominikus are a Roman Catholic religious order that was founded in Speyer in 1852 by Bishop Nikolaus von Weis . The congregation of episcopal law has been called the Institut St. Dominikus since 1972 . The parent company is in Speyer.
founding
In the time after secularization and after the division of the Speyer diocese, the Catholic school system in the Palatinate was practically extinguished. Also Bernhard Magel , a major Palatine priest of the 19th century, fell as pastor of Rheinzabern the frightening lack of education, especially among the female youth and he had the idea that the School Sisters who worked as beneficial already in the left bank of Bavaria, also to settle in the Diocese of Speyer. The commemorative publication “100 Years of the Institute of the Poor School Sisters of St. Dominic, Speyer am Rhein” explains in 1952: “In Bavaria on the left bank of the Rhine, Bernhard Magel, pastor and district school inspector of Rheinzabern, a zealous and far-sighted priest of God, was seriously concerned about the fragile school system currently. He was downright dismayed by the moral depression of the poorer classes of the people, especially the female youth. ”In the summer of 1838, Pastor Magel visited King Ludwig I in Aschaffenburg and presented the matter to him personally. He wanted to have the Bavarian school sisters come to Rheinzabern or to found a similar, independent institute in his home diocese of Speyer. The king agreed, but since both plans failed because of the lack of money, Magel tried - advised by cathedral dean Nikolaus Weis - to incorporate the planned school monastery into the Dominican convent of St. Magdalena in Speyer. Bishop Geissel refused, however, and the founding of the school sisters - then according to Magels and Weis' plan - finally dragged on until 1852.
After Nikolaus Weis became Bishop of Speyer, he made a lasting effort to improve the school education in his diocese, especially the education of girls. He took up his old plan from the time of Pastor Magel. In collaboration with the Bavarian King Ludwig I , he set up an institute for monastic teachers in Speyer in 1852. Until a motherhouse was built for them, they were housed in the rooms of the existing Dominican convent of St. Magdalena. The prioress there suggested that the new Tertiary Sisters of St. Dominic should be. The first candidates began their training as teachers in 1852, they were supported by the prioress Mathilde Königsberger. In 1854, after receiving their state examination, the first ten sisters moved to four different communities in the area ( Hagenbach , Maikammer , Otterstadt and Blieskastel ) to teach the girls in the elementary schools. The sisters received their own statutes, which were based on the constitutions of the Dominican Sisters, but took into account the service at the school.
Co-founder and first superior was from 1852 until his death in 1870, cathedral priest and cathedral capitular Peter Köstler , an outstanding man with great educational and pastoral talent. Franz Xaver Remling writes about the introduction of the school sisters in the diocese (Nikolaus von Weis, volume 1, page 252):
“ The zealous Prioress of the Dominican Sisters, together with their confessor, Peter Köstler , who was the rain of the clerical seminary at the time , gladly offered a hand on the worthy, important project. With a willingness to sacrifice, both undertook the not insignificant task of properly educating the suitable candidates who were registering for the school subject, of bringing them up in a monastic manner, and of giving the new institution such an institution that the sisters would continuously maintain a monastic relationship with those with theirs external spheres of activity so indispensable discipline supports and maintains. "
Peter Köstler's obituary in the Speyer diocesan schema , 1873, also calls him "... the superior of the Dominican convent and founder and director of the institute for the poor school sisters associated with him ." The report on his burial in Pilgrim No. 43 of 1870 states: "The funeral procession was an extremely large and touching one, because all the schoolchildren in the local boys 'and girls' schools, the school sisters , whose co-founder and since then the head of the deceased was, mourned the coffin ... The deceased was more than a father to many. "
Independence from St. Magdalena
The early days of the order were tough. The sisters' salaries were so low that they were barely enough for the livelihood and education of the offspring. The rented rooms in St. Magdalena were no longer sufficient, and the sisters built their own wing of the building at St. Magdalena Monastery in 1887 and their own parent house in Vinzentiusstraße in 1910. In 1893 the congregation was officially incorporated into the Dominican Order and received new constitutions from Bishop Joseph Georg von Ehrler . In the following years the sisters gradually became independent of the leadership of the St. Magdalena monastery. In 1907 the congregation was recognized under canon law.
Growth and expansion
The community grew rapidly. From 100 sisters in 1897 the number of members grew to 1018 sisters in 103 convents by 1937. The tasks expanded. From the work in elementary schools and high schools for girls (for example the Realgymnasium in St. Ingbert ) to handicraft schools and kindergartens, the sisters soon took on nursing, baby care and family help.
In 1925 sisters emigrated to the USA . You took over the business management in a seminary in Montana . The sisters serve in Washington today in Indian missions, hospitals, parish schools, and homes. The American province, which has been independent since 1950, has formed an independent congregation under episcopal law since 1986 under the name " Dominican Sisters of Spokane ". This congregation soon joined the " Sinsinawa Dominicans " in Wisconsin / USA.
War years
During the First World War , because the teachers were drafted, the sisters often had to take over the boys' classes as well. Many nurses helped in hospitals . The congregation also went through difficult times during the Nazi era. The sisters were expelled from schools and kindergartens and had to take up other activities in order to earn a living. At the beginning of the war, many houses in the border area to France had to be evacuated, the sisters fled to Franconia and Thuringia. Several sister houses in the Palatinate were damaged or destroyed by air strikes.
reconstruction
The work in the elementary schools was almost completely given up after the war due to a lack of young people, but the sisters continued to run their own schools. From 1949 to 1973 Mother Maria Fabiola (Elisabeth Quack) was the Prioress General . The Marienschule in Saarbrücken was built in 1950, and a kindergarten teacher seminar, a children's home and a secondary school were set up in Landstuhl . In Speyer, the sisters built the Nikolaus von Weis high school. The sisters have also been working in the mission in Ghana since 1957 . The number of members has fallen sharply since the 1960s, today around 300 sisters still live in the religious community.
St. Dominikus Foundation Speyer
In order to secure and continue the facilities established by the sisters of the St. Dominikus Institute, the Order established the St. Dominikus Foundation Speyer in 2003 . The still existing religious institutions, seven schools, a hospital, a children's home, a children's village, an inpatient hospice and an outpatient hospice and palliative counseling service were brought under the umbrella of this foundation by means of two non-profit limited liability companies. Around 1,500 people are employed in the facilities. The foundation chairman is Priority General Sister Gisela Bastian.
Non-profit St. Dominikus Schools GmbH, based in St. Ingbert
- Albertus Magnus Secondary School (St. Ingbert)
- Albertus Magnus High School (St. Ingbert)
- Edith Stein Secondary School (Speyer)
- Edith Stein High School (Speyer)
- Nikolaus-von-Weis-Realschule plus (Speyer)
- Nikolaus-von-Weis-Gymnasium (Speyer)
- St. Katharina Secondary School (Landstuhl)
St. Dominikus Hospital and Youth Welfare GmbH, based in Ludwigshafen
- St. Marien and St. Annastift Hospital (Ludwigshafen am Rhein)
- St. Annastift Children's Home (Ludwigshafen am Rhein)
- Children's and Youth Village Maria Regina (Silz)
- Hospice Elias (Ludwigshafen am Rhein)
- Outpatient hospice and palliative counseling service (Ludwigshafen am Rhein)
Individual evidence
- ↑ A feeling for the needs of the time in: "Die Rheinpfalz" from January 7, 2015
- ↑ kjh: "What a beautiful day ..." St. Dominikus Stiftung Speyer celebrates five years of existence with a big party - nine institutions present themselves. in Die Rheinpfalz on August 25, 2008, Speyerer Rundschau
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 18 '58.8 " N , 8 ° 25' 12.7" E