Vigorous Growth, 1853-1858

Letters of Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger Volume 1 Sowing the Seed, 1822-1840 Volume 2 Nurturing the Seedling, 1841-1848 Volume 3 Jolted and Joggled, 1849-1852 Volume 4 Vigorous Growth, 1853-1858 Volume 5 Living Branches, 1859-1867 Volume 6 Mission to North America, 1847-1859 Volume 7 Mission to North America, 1860-1879 Volume 8 Mission to Prussia: Brede Volume 9 Mission to Prussia: Breslau Volume 10 Mission to Upper Austria Volume 11 Mission to Baden Mission to Gorizia Volume 12 Mission to Hungary Volume 13 Mission to Austria Mission to England Volume 14 Mission to Tyrol Volume 15 Abundant Fruit, 1868-1879 Letters of Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger Foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame Volume 4 Vigorous Growth, 1853-1858 Translated, Edited, and Annotated by Mary Ann Kuttner, SSND School Sisters of Notre Dame Printing Department Elm Grove, Wisconsin 2009 Copyright © 2009 by School Sisters of Notre Dame Via della Stazione Aurelia 95 00165 Rome, Italy All rights reserved. Cover Design by Mary Caroline Jakubowski, SSND “All the works of God proceed slowly and in pain; but then, their roots are the sturdier and their flowering the lovelier.” Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger No. 2277 Contents Preface to Volume 4 ix Introduction xi Chapter 1 January—April 1853 1 Chapter 2 May—October 1853 41 Chapter 3 November—December 1853 69 Chapter 4 January—May 1854 95 Chapter 5 June—December 1854 117 Chapter 6 1855 141 Chapter 7 1856 165 Chapter 8 1857 193 Chapter 9 1858 215 List of Documents 245 Index 249 ix Preface to Volume 4 Volume 4 of Letters of Mary Theresa of Jesus Ger- hardinger includes documents from the years 1853 through 1858, a time of vigorous growth for the congregation. These documents refer primarily to the development of the congregation as a whole during this time, but some letters were written with regard to specific missions in Bavaria. Docu- ments from the same time period that refer to missions es- tablished outside Bavaria can be found in Volumes 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14. As part of the process leading toward the beatification of Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger in 1985, 5,337 documents, which she either wrote or signed, were gathered and copied by hand. These copies were notarized, num- bered, packed in a large trunk, and taken to Rome. On De- cember 17, 1929, they were presented to the Sacred Congregation of Rites for further examination. This material is referred to here as the beatification collection. Since it was beyond the scope of this work to locate original letters still extant in numerous archives, translations were done from the notarized copies in the beatification collection. Some of the material in this collection was copied from archival copies of the original documents and these copies did not always include a signature. This does not imply that the original document was unsigned. A few documents in the beatification collection were either undated or misdated. Further study of these documents and their context helped determine probable dates, which are indicated in brackets. Since the documents in this volume are arranged chronologically, they are not always in numerical sequence. A numerical list of documents can be found at the end of the book. Words in the texts of the letters that appear in brackets were added in order to help identify persons or places men x tioned in the letters. Italics are used to indicate underlined text found in the documents of the beatification collection. Mother Theresa’s use of the name, Poor School Sisters (Arme Schulschwestern), as well as the word order, has been retained in this translation. Place names found in the text are those commonly used in Mother Theresa’s time. If the same place is known by a different name today, a footnote supplies this information. Efforts have been made to identify the recipients of each letter. Titles are used in the headings and salutations, but the nineteenth-century practice of repeating titles through- out the text and closing of a letter has been dropped for the most part in this translation. Formal closings have been simplified and are usually given as “Respectfully yours.” After the beatification collection was delivered to Rome in 1929, additional documents were found that can be at- tributed to Mother Theresa or that were commissioned by her. Ten of these documents are included in this volume and identified with a number followed by a letter, e.g., 1522 a. In this volume, documents that were not included in the beatification collection are classified as (1) an autograph, (2) a transcript, or (3) a typescript. An autograph is a manu- script in the author’s handwriting. A transcript is an early, handwritten copy of an original document. A typescript is a typewritten copy of a document. xi Introduction “A good cause comes up against obstacles from every side, but once it has withstood the test of fire, it proves its worth and develops all the more splendidly.”1 By the time Mother Theresa wrote these words on March 31, 1855, she had already experienced a “test of fire.” Con- vincing evidence of this can be found in Volume 3, Jolted and Joggled, 1849-1852, which ends on a very somber note reflecting a deep rift between Mother Theresa and Carl Au- gust von Reisach, the archbishop of Munich and Freising. The struggle continues to unfold in Volume 4 of Letters of Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger. Long and detailed letters to Dr. Bernard Schels, Mother Theresa’s representa- tive in Rome, describe the seemingly endless wait for a decision by the Holy See regarding the rule and the future of the congregation. Permission for the profession of vows in Munich was denied. The mission in Hirschau, Bohemia, was separated from the motherhouse in Munich. Some bishops began to question whether the Poor School Sisters were really members of a religious congregation. Archbishop Reisach was relentless in his demand that Mother Theresa, “as superior of the motherhouse, was sub- ject to the archbishop and must obey him in the exercise of her office—inside as well as outside his diocese—because her office was solely dependent on him.”2 A few years later, Mother Theresa could write with con- viction nourished by this experience, “We are not deterred 1. Quoted from Document 1897, March 31, 1855, found in the beatification collection 2. See Footnote 10 in Letters of Mary Theresa of Jesus Ger- hardinger, Vol. 3, Jolted and Joggled (Elm Grove: School Sisters of Notre Dame Printing Department, 2009) 119-120. xii Introduction by the opposition that has arisen against the good cause, but strengthened instead in our view that it is God’s cause. Sometimes what seems to be postponed now for reasons hid- den in the unfathomable will of God is granted later.”3 Archbishop Reisach’s refusal to allow the profession of vows drew the attention of the Holy See to Mother Theresa’s plight and hastened the decision on the congregation’s rule and future. Archbishop Reisach accepted this decision, and the reconciliation, which “humanly speaking, was out of the question,”4 became a reality. The sisters’ and candidates’ effective ministry at small, scattered missions soon convinced the skeptical bishops that the Poor School Sisters were indeed genuine religious, in- tent on loving and serving God through the education and character formation of girls and young women. An increasing number of young women applied for ac- ceptance into the congregation, and requests for sisters con- tinued to pour in from far and wide. At the beginning of 1853, almost 200 sisters and 90 candidates were living and working, either at the central motherhouse in Munich or at 52 missions on both sides of the Atlantic. By the time the congregation celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its foundation on October 24, 1858, the number of sisters had tripled. Almost 600 sisters and 200 candidates were at 3 motherhouses and 125 missions in Bavaria and in various areas of Prussia, Austria, and North America. How was this possible? Mother Theresa herself tells us: “We hope against all hope that, in Jesus’ name, the almighty and infinitely merciful God will bring this work to its de- sired end, just as God led and protected it from the beginning.”5 3. Quoted from Document 2167, May 24, 1856, found in the beatification collection 4. Quoted from Document 1354, p. 17 5. Quoted from Document 2607, p. 228 1 January—April 1853 415: To Fr. Artmann Zwiesel Munich [March 14, 1853]1 J!M! Reverend School Inspector! It was impossible for me to respond any earlier to your esteemed letter regarding the introduction of Poor School Sisters into your parish, and now I would like to say: 1. Your school currently has 106 children attending weekday classes. Since there is an increase of students whenever sisters come, the burden will probably be too great for two sisters who will have to teach both the elementary subjects and needlework. Therefore, three teaching sisters will be necessary. 2. The sisters’ living quarters and classrooms should be in the same building, with direct access to the adjoining church. A small garden where the sisters can relax in the fresh air is also necessary. Could you please explain whether and how this can be done in conjunction with the plan for the school for boys that you mentioned? Perhaps you could send us a plan of the proposed building, together with a sketch of the layout of the whole for our use now until God grants me the op- portunity to come and see the entire situation.

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