Als Antwort auf Gottes Ruf

As part of our ongoing observance of the 200th birthday of Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt, we continue to post excerpts of Als Antwort auf Gottes Ruf (Bonifatius, 2016), the history of the Sisters of Christian Charity since 1881, by Sister Anna Schwanz, SCC, translated by Sister Mary Perpetua Rehle, SCC.

In 1949, the celebration of the 100th anniversary of its foundation was a highpoint in the life of the Congregation.  In all Provinces, it was a time of deep gratitude, an incentive or the inner renewal of each Sister and an opportunity to help the poor. . . .
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Afterwards the grave of Pauline von Mallinckrodt was frequently "the goal of pilgrimages" for groups and individuals and "many a person weighed down with suffering brought his pain to Mother Pauline and placed his intentions in writing on the marble slab." . . . On the occasion of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the German Catholic Teachers (female) Society in 1955, whole groups of the attending guests came to St. Conrad's Chapel.  At the first public meeting, Dr. Lorenz Jäger held Mother Pauline up as "the ideal of a Catholic teacher and urged all to approach their work in education in her spirit."

That same year the wondrous healing of Sister Christophora Ostermann took place.  Sister was a member of the German Province and at 29 years of age, was seriously ill with Multiple Sclerosis.  All medications were unsuccessful and the neurologist admitted that there was nothing more that he could do for her.  She suffered from terrible pain in her entire body and from severe dizziness day and night.  Failing eyesight, paralysis of her arms and total paralysis of her legs made her as helpless as a child.  In this state, she was transferred to our Home for the Elderly in Wiedenbrück on May 13, 1955.  . . . Completely surrendered to the Will of God, she continued with great confidence to pray to Mother Pauline, to whom we had already made numerous novenas begging her to obtain Sister Christophora's healing.  How surprised we all were, when on the 14th a phone call from Wiedenbrück brought us the joyous news that Sister Christophora had been healed. . . . This healing played a special role in the beatification process. . . . The attending physician had submitted reports about the illness and treatment and after exhaustive study of the matter, he had come to the conclusion that "the healing and the disappearance of all symptoms of the illness within one half hour were medically and scientifically unexplainable."  Various doctors and nurses and also the hospital in Neuhaus where Sister Christophora had been treated in 1954 were questioned.   As the process continued, the Church recognized the healing as miraculous.  After her sudden return to health, Sister Christophora was able to continue her apostolate for 40 years and the participate in daily community life.  She was the director of the knitting department in the School for the Blind and died on June 1, 2010.