To acquire this skill the assistant, Sister Francesca, spent some time in Koblenz with Sisters from Aix-la-Chapelle Franciscans. Certainly in the apostolate of a large congregation, this task is not in the foreground. But one must also consider the small congregation, which in this way can contribute toward the celebration of Holy Mass in many parishes. Did not St. Francis also supply his brothers with hostbaking irons that they might contribute toward the worthy celebration of the Holy Eucharist?
The education of the Sisters in the care of the sick began in 1868. After a request for their training had been made to Superior Kaiser of the city hospital in Cologne without results, Sister Maria Theresia turned to Mother Francis Schervier. This worthy helper in need for the Olpe Sisters made it possible for two Sisters to be sent to Euskirchen in November 1868, to become proficient in the nursing of the sick from the very rudiments. Two other Sisters went to Essen where in a hospital conducted by the Elizabethan Sisters they learned the nursing of the sick. The fifth and sixth Sisters went to Aix-la-Chapelle to study nursing care in St. Mary Help Hospital. For all this assistance the Sisters were grateful to Mother Francis Schervier.
Thus in large measure, the apostolate of nursing the sick was made possible. It was evident to the superior of the Olpe Sisters that the effectiveness of the sisters in active charitable works does not depend upon good will alone. Sister Maria Theresia herself had not the experience of a special education in any specific field. But she did all within her power that her Sisters become highly qualified through the best education to render possible a rich and fulfilling apostolate.
The First Constitution of the Congregation
The chief endeavors of Sister Maria Theresia were concerned with the inner development of her Congregation of Sisters. Essential to this formation was their very own constitution. The drafting was not to be done hastily. Too much depended upon it. Not that the congregation have a constitution of some sort, it must be good and conform to the best — that was of greatest importance. It was understood from the very beginning that the Olpe Sisters must have conventual regulations. The general character of the new constitution was foreshadowed in the letter Reverend Director Schmidt wrote to Bishop Konrad Martin on August 10, 1863. His statements are almost prophetical:
Should a religious congregation endure and not carry the germs of dissolution within itself from the very beginning, it must above all endeavor to be what its name signifies…. If the sisters are to be genuine Franciscans, the congregation will receive graces from above and will coalesce with the Catholic people, as the Franciscan Fathers, and will thus have a glorious future. Therefore they must imbibe all that is Franciscan in so far as is compatible with religious women. First there is the Rule of St. Francis … closely allied therewith is the clothing … all must bear the imprint of poverty, and this makes the greatest impression on the people; one also witnesses by his so highly treasured worn habit, grown old together with him.… If the Sisters, I repeat again, become true Franciscans, interiorly and exteriorly, then their future is assured.
Bishop Konrad Martin himself had counseled in August 1863 that the Olpe Sisters should frame a constitution based on the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. Utilizing this as a basis they should add their own worthwhile experiences.
All who were in any way concerned, with one accord, manifested a favorable spirit. From the very first, the will of the Olpe Sisters was in agreement with that of Director Schmidt and also with the expressed wish of the bishop. It now depended essentially upon Sister Maria Theresia to activate the wishes and the task. She had no desire to frame the new Constitution solely upon her own decisions. She wished to integrate her congregation completely into the great family of the saint of Assisi, and therefore sought counsel in following the Franciscan way of life exactly. She and all her Sisters made a retreat conducted by Reverend Bonaventure Wessendorf to induct them into the Franciscan way. For the same reason she took counsel from the great Franciscan Mother Francis Schervier, to profit from her rich experience. Although she alone had sought counsel from this great religious woman in Aix-la-Chapelle, she provided that all her Sisters gained deeper knowledge of Franciscanism from Mother Francis during her visit in Olpe. The superior in Olpe did not wish to have this knowledge for herself alone and thus be the only one to give it to others. All Sisters from the very beginning should be informed in the Franciscan way of life. When her assistant, Sister Francesca, was in Koblenz to acquire the skill of host-baking, she had many opportunities of speaking with Mother Francis, who also at that time was there. Upon Sister Francesca’s return, she and Sister Maria Theresia drafted the Constitution. They completed the work on March 25, 1865.
Since the Constitution breathes the genuine spirit of the first beginning, it is an especially primary document, and we shall enter somewhat deeper into it. The manifestation of its spirit is a permanent testament for the Poor Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration. We shall explore the characteristic features and observe especially the situation existing at that time. The Rule of Pope Leo X written for the Third Order Regular of St. Francis in 1521, and used as a basis, appears first. Then follows the Constitution. The objectives of the congregation are given first as follows: “After the example of our holy Father Francis, the Sisters will endeavor to unite the contemplative with the active life: in the Perpetual Adoration and in the practice of works of charity.”
“After the example of our holy Father Francis” — when one considers the foregoing — a person senses how much there is in the first words and how great the reaction. Francis serves as a guideline along which the congregation is to formulate its way of life. This guideline of the saint of Assisi, is not determined by insignificant, individual, and external ways, but from the basic goal here established: “the contemplative life combined with the active life.” Here in this synthesis of the contemplative and the active is expressed the fundamental characteristic trait of St. Francis. When one considers his prayer life, one gets the impression that he must have been a contemplative through and through. If one follows his active life, then he appears an outstanding example of the active orders. Nevertheless he united both in a unique way within himself. His contemplative life made him clearly recognize the will of God who called him to the service of others. In the midst of active life he was never in danger, even in the most absorbing activity, of losing himself in the activity. He was active but not enamored of the activity; he loved the will of God. He saw the contemplative and the active life not as two separate entities, but as one life — the contemplative seeking and discovering the will of God and the active fulfilling it in order to know God more intimately.
This synthesis of the contemplative and the active life finds its expression for the Olpe Sisters in the “Perpetual Adoration and in the active apostolate of charity.” Combined, both are clearly defined literally: “Through the Perpetual Adoration of our divine Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, the Sisters seek to make atonement and to pray for the general intentions of Holy Mother church. In the active apostolate the congregation pursues principally the instruction, education, and development of youth, especially poor, neglected and orphaned children.”
The Franciscan way of life is also expressed thusly: “The Sisters live according to the Rule of holy Father Francis as approved by Pope Leo X for the Third Order Regular with the exception of those changes appearing in the Constitution.” Historically, it is not quite correct to call the “Leo-Rule” the Rule of St. Francis. Does not this very point in its formulation betray the great joy of really belonging to the family of St. Francis? That the statutes deviated from the “Leo-Rule” was caused by necessity owing to the character of that Rule. Some of its regulations were no longer observed in the nineteenth century, for example, those regarding the divine office and the reception of the sacraments. The rule of fasting needed to be modified although the Olpe statutes had endeavored to adhere strictly to the “Leo-Rule.” Through personal experience the Sisters realized that a change had to be made and the severe rule mitigated. The “Leo-Rule” was not formulated for an active apostolate of charity, but for the contemplative orders. The effect of all this was that in 1927, the church gave a new rule to the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, more in keeping with the character of an active apostolate.
Also,
