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Congratulations to Sr. Ildefonsa on her 90th birthday
Sr Ildefonsa Grätz OP celebrated her 90th birthday
Sr Ildefonsa celebrated her 90th birthday in the Senior Citizens’ Residence Kist to which she - together with Sisters Ernestine and Mellita - had moved from the Caritas Senior Citizens’ Centre St. Martin in Lohr am Main at the end of September.
Birthday celebration in the Senior Citizens’ Residence Kist
She celebrated her birthday with a church service, and received many congratulations from her fellow sisters and a birthday serenade. Since her birthday followed almost immediately after the move, she needs a little time to settle in. She is already looking forward to the visit of her sisters, who both live in Würzburg, at a later date.
She grew up with four sisters
Sr Ildefonsa was born on 5 October 1933 in Rütschenhausen, a part of the community of Wasserlosen in the district of Schweinfurt. After school, she trained as a dressmaker in Würzburg.
Her wish was to go to the mission in South Africa
She experienced the call to enter the convent as a young girl, when she was allowed to carry the banner at the German Catholic Day in Fulda. She had stood in the front row and listened spellbound to the stories of a South African priest and a Dominican sister who told her about the mission. It was then that the desire to go to the mission arose in her.
Sr. Ildefonsa found her mission in Germany
On 3 May 1957, Sr Ildefonsa entered our Congregation in Neustadt. Her wish to go to the mission in South Africa did not happen, but her mission was the tasks she carried out in Germany. She helped in housekeeping at the convent in Neustadt and also in the sewing room.
Her expertise as a trained ladies' tailor was often indispensable
For eleven years she lived and worked in the youth centre at Volkersberg. There she worked in housekeeping and in the kitchen, and, of course, she also contributed her practical experience with needle and thread.
Sr Ildefonsa also contributed to the Congregation’s own boarding school and kindergarten in Diessen am Ammersee. In the Marienkrankenhaus in Flörsheim, she worked in the kitchen. Most recently, in the St. Josef convent in Diessen, she worked both in the sewing room and in the kitchen.
Text Martina Schneider
Photo Sr Marie-Luise Faupel OP
Translation Sr Marie-Luise Faupel OP
23th October 2023