ST. MARY, WESTPHALIA
AWAITS THE CANONIZATION OF BLESSED PAULINE

Blessed Pauline is familiar to the parishioners of St. Mary in Westphalia and many in our diocese for three reasons:

She sent Sisters of Christian Charity in 1874 to teach in the parish school. They did so for 125 years.

She visited the Sisters and Parish from June 1 - 8, 1880.

She was declared 'BLESSED' by John Paul II on April 14, 1985.

Since a previous article was about her life, this relates to her mission and presence in America. She founded the Sisters of Christian Charity on August 21, 1849. The community flourished in Germany until the 'Kulturkampf' of Bismarck. In those 30 years it numbered 245 sisters serving in 30 missions in Germany. All of this ended on June 18, 1972. The Minister of Education decreed: "The Exclusion of members of Religious Orders from all teaching positions."

Entire Religious Orders left Germany. Many went to the Americas. She established a new Motherhouse in Belgium and began new missions in Chile in 1874 and the USA in 1983. In the US, 25 houses and a Motherhouse in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania were founded.

From 1879-1880, Mother Pauline visited all her missions in South and North America. Here are records of the beginnings in Westphalia in 1874 and her visit there in 1880. Father John Reiffert, the fourth pastor (1874-1879) asked Mother Pauline to send sisters for a parish school.

In the Westphalia annals for 1874, Sister Theophilia writes: "I had returned from Dortmund at the end of July 1874, when our good Rev. Mother appointed me with three of our Sisters, Sister Eulalia, Sister Olga and Sister Protasia for America, to begin a new settlement in Westphalia, Michigan."

Her account of the Atlantic crossing and journey to the Midwest: "On September 7, we, the four Sisters who were appointed for Westphalia, traveled with our Provincial Superior, dear Mother Mathilde and her assistant Sister Philomena, to our new place. Tuesday, September 8, at 10:00am we arrived in Detroit, where we were greeted by relatives of Sister Philomena, who accompanied us by boat to the railway station. At 5:00pm we were in Fowler, where six girls in white greeted us with a welcome address and scattered flowers in our honor. Several ladies from Westphalia, who had accompanied these girls, had been sent by the Rev. Fr. Reiffert to bring us by wagon, which was ready for us, to our final destination, still a distance of eight miles.

We were about one mile away from Westphalia when a procession met us, headed by the Rev. Reiffert and men of the parish. They led us to the Church and as we entered the choir sang the Te Deum Laudamus."

The visitation of Mother Pauline to Michigan, especially to her community and parish in Westphalia, was recorded then in two sources. The Chronicles of the Congregation recorded in 1880 when Mother completed her visitation in Minnesota: "From Le Mars, Reverend Mother and Sister Chrysostoma traveled to Michigan to visit our two houses in Ionia and Westphalia. Everywhere the same, loving scenes were renewed: great joy was expressed at her coming and intense sadness at her leaving. The Sisters, the children and the entire parish did all they possibly could to afford Reverend Mother pleasure and to show their gratitude, for all appreciated her unselfishness in undertaking so long and cumbersome a journey from motives of pure love. Reverend Mother and Sister Chrysostoma spent several days with the Sisters in Ionia and also with the Sisters in Westphalia and on June 8, she traveled to Detroit, in order to pay her respects to the Most Reverend Bishop of the diocese. From Detroit she traveled to Rome, New York and then Albany."

The Annals written by the Sisters at Westphalia for 1880 state: "A great day of joy for our house proved to be the first day of June, never to be forgotten, because of a so longed-for visit of our dear Mother Pauline and Sister Chrysostoma von Spree, her companion. They arrived here at 1:00pm well and happy. Their stay of five days seemed only to be a few hours. Her leave taking became again a painful sacrifice because of the joy and pleasure that her motherly heart imparted to us. Dear Sister Bonifacia, our Superior, accompanied the two travelers to Detroit, where they visited the Bishop and then went on to Buffalo."

Father William Herwig was pastor during Mother Pauline's visitation. He was the fifth pastor from 1879 - 1902.

The Annals of the Sisters of Westphalia for 1881 mark the death of Mother Pauline on April 30: "Again we have come to the end of the year. This year, humanly speaking, was a sad one for all of us. Our General Superior, our dearest Mother Pauline von Mallinckrodt, was taken from us by death. She had visited us during the past year, desiring to see her daughters in order to encourage them to live and die in their vocation for the glory of God alone and to save the souls of men by teaching and educating the young. The hand of God is heavy upon us, but the wound God inflicted is also a source of grace that we might bear the pain for the honor and glory of Him whose mercy never fails.

The hardships of the journey to South America and North America were the cause of much exhaustion and fatigue to dear Rev. Mother. A few days after she had reached home she fell ill and we in faraway America, not knowing it, were suddenly informed of the serious condition of our beloved Mother. Immediately we felt that God wanted to take our Mother Pauline to himself. After three days a telegram brought us the sad message that she had gone quietly and peacefully to a better life, like a saint.

I am unable to describe how painful and distressing this news was, only those who in childlike love had been attached to the dear deceased can know. But no more of these sentiments. The few lines which she had directed to her daughters shortly before death, were imparted to us later. These will never be blotted out from our memory. Our good Rev. Mother is not with us anymore. We know she is happy to have entered heaven, where all strive to go with all the powers of our souls, that we may in union with Mother Pauline praise god from eternity to eternity."