Karoline Mayer (missionary)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karoline Mayer (* 1943 in Eichstätt ) is a German missionary and development worker who works in Chile and who is also a Chilean citizen.

Life

Beginnings

Karoline Mayer was born in Eichstätt in 1943 and grew up in Pietenfeld , which is now part of the Adelschlag community . Following primary school education in her home country, she attended the humanities grammar school in Steyl in the Netherlands. There she graduated from high school in 1964. In order to prepare for a religious life, she joined the Steyler Missionary Sisters shortly afterwards and made her vows in 1967.

Working in Chile

Although Mayer wanted to serve the poorest as a missionary in India or China, she was sent to Santiago de Chile in 1968 . The order of the Steyler Missionaries forbade her to become a doctor, which is why she began studying to be a university nurse at the Universidad de Chile , which she successfully completed in 1973.

At the same time, Mayer was made aware by some of her fellow students that there were places in the wealthy town of Las Condes in Santiago that were nothing more than rubbish piles. The Chilean lower class lived there under inhumane conditions. She saw this as an opportunity to do justice to her original mission goal: serving the poor. In 1971 she moved to one of these rubbish hills, which was called Areas Verdes . Here Mayer helped to build a Christian community. She began treating patients for free in a state hospital, founded two kindergartens and a people's kitchen to alleviate the hunger and suffering of the people.

In 1974 Mayer moved to the poor settlement of Angela Davis , named after a US civil rights activist, in what is now Recoleta, which was the result of land occupations (“tomas de terreno”) . The Steyler Order disapproved of this decision, which is why Mayer resigned from the Order and founded the Comunidad de Jesús , a Christian residential community. She took over the leadership of the congregation Jesús Sol Naciente , which she founded together with a French missionary, and together with Sister Maruja Jofré set up the Naciente kindergarten, which continues to this day.

At the same time, Karoline Mayer, with a humanistic motivation, helped political opposition members in the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet . She hid many opponents of the regime or helped them flee abroad. She received several death threats for this and was arrested once, but released again following interventions by church and diplomatic circles.

The crisis of 1975-76 gave Karoline Mayer the impetus to found a foundation to respond to the emergency of the poor and to set up services that required a legal framework. The Fundación Missio was founded in 1977 as an ecclesiastical institution whose president was Jorge Hourton, the then regional bishop of Santiago North. Sister Karoline Mayer was managing director of the organization until 1988. Polyclinics, crèches, kindergartens and day-care centers were set up under the protection of the church and in close cooperation with organizations in the poor areas. There were also funding and support programs for community initiatives as well as programs for training women, young people and the unemployed.

At the same time, the Fundación Missio built the slum Villa Mercedes in the Renca district from 1985 to 1988 in order to give the poorest a permanent house and a home. The land on which the settlement for 174 families was built was bought and donated by Mercedes Echeñique.

In 1989, Sister Karoline Mayer and Sister Maruja Jofré moved into a house in the poor neighborhood of Quinta Bella. There they built the chapel and the Cristo Vive community center with the support of friends from Europe .

The transition from military dictatorship to democratic government opened up better opportunities for the social development of the population. During this time, Sister Karoline Mayer decided to set up a large social and educational work together with a group of believers and non-believers: the Fundación Cristo Vive . It was founded in 1990 and aims to continue the various social services that Sister Karoline Mayer and her staff had started with the Fundación Missio in extremely poor neighborhoods in Santiago. The Fundación Cristo Vive is now also active in Peru and Bolivia. Furthermore, the association Cristo Vive Europe was founded in Germany in 2002 and the association Cristo Vive Switzerland in 2007. Your job is to support the foundations in Latin America through campaigns and donations.

Awards

In recognition of her commitment, the Chilean National Assembly granted her Chilean citizenship on October 9, 2001. In addition, she has received further awards for her charitable work both in Germany and in Chile:

  • 1984: Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon
  • 1994: Shalom Prize from the Catholic University of Eichstätt
  • 1994: Georg Schulhoff Prize from the German Chamber of Crafts in Düsseldorf
  • 1997: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
  • 1998: “Semilla de Mostaza” - Prize of the Kirchheim Bolanden parish
  • 1998: Hija Ilustre de la Municipalidad de Huechuraba in Santiago de Chile
  • 2001: Augustin Bea Prize from the International Humanum Foundation
  • 2003: Distinción “Personaje Destacado” Ilustre Municipalidad Recoleta
  • 2005: Merit Medal of the State of Baden-Württemberg
  • 2008: Cardinal Frings Medal of the Catholic Social Institute
  • 2009: Göttingen Edith Stein Prize
  • 2010: Premio a la Mujer Bicentenario, Ilustre Municipalidad de Recoleta
  • 2012: Premio a las 100 Mujeres Lideres, El Mercurio
  • 2013: Marion Dönhoff Prize for International Understanding and Reconciliation (Sponsorship Prize)
  • 2013: Prize "Heroine of Peace" (Héroe de la Paz) of the Jesuit University "Alberto Hurtado" in Santiago de Chile
  • 2015: "Goldenes Herz" from "Ein Herz für Kinder"
  • 2016: “Energía de mujer” in recognition of their work with the community from the Enersis energy company
  • 2016: “Premio a la trayectoria” for her life's work from the “Enrique Silva Cimma Prize”

Fonts

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 14–37.
  2. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 36–42.
  3. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 39–64.
  4. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 122–130.
  5. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 85–116.
  6. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 130–140.
  7. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 140–140-147.
  8. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 183–187.
  9. See Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen 2011, pp. 200–219.
  10. List of medal recipients 1975–2019. (PDF; 180 kB) State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg, accessed on June 12, 2019 .

literature

  • Karoline Mayer: The secret is always love . Herder Verlag , 2nd edition, 2011, ISBN 978-3-451-29070-1 .
  • Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen: Loving commandments for a fulfilled life. GRÄFE UND UNZER, 1st edition, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8338-2763-1 .
  • Karoline Mayer and Angela Krumpen: Everyone has a dream in their hearts: Of the power that can change everything. Herder Verlag, 1st edition, 2015, ISBN 978-3-451-31218-2 .