In 2015, we look back upon 130 years of our history, with more than 1300 women living as Missionary Benedictine Sisters. Over the coming months of the Year of Consecrated Life we will bring to you the histories of our Priories and Sisters across the World.
An urgent need for new missionaries arose in South West
Africa, now Namibia, after World War I. The only female congregation at that
time, the Franciscan Sisters of Nonnenwerth, was requested by their Generalate
to leave “Maria Hilf Hospital” in Windhoek, now called “Roman Catholic
Hospital”.
Fr. Eugene Klaeyle, the Apostolic Prefect and Fr. Damian
Arnold, his representative in South West Africa, looked for other Sisters to
take over the hospital and other mission stations. As early as 1917, Fr. Arnold
tried to request for the German Sisters, former missionaries in East Africa who
were detained in Camp Tempe near Bloemfontein in South Africa, for mission work
in South West Africa but instead the Sisters were repatriated to Germany in
April 1919.
Fr. Arnold wrote the Bishop of Augsburg in Germany, Bishop
Maximilian von Lingg, who submitted the concern to the Prioress of the
Missionary Benedictine Sisters on February 24, 1920. On the same day, the
Bishop received the response of Mother Birgitta Korff, OSB that the
Congregation was open to send some Sisters to the mission in South West Africa.
Eight Sisters left Tutzing on November 7, 1920, the first
ones to travel to Africa after World War I and the last ones sent out by Mother
Birgitta as Prioress General. On November 11, 1920, they boarded the “Baltika”
in Hamburg, the first German steamer that would cast anchor in Namibia. Among
them were former East African missionaries and a new missionary. They landed on
the coast of the Atlantic Ocean at Walvisbay and began their “Service that
Saves and Heals” in Swakopmund. They were: Sr. Beatrix Biefel, OSB, Superior,
St. Anselma Schnitzbauer, OSB, Sr. Constancia Mayr, OSB, Sr. Gabriela Reiter,
OSB, Sr. Ingridis Meiller, OSB, Sr. Franziska Mövenkamp, OSB, Sr. Relindis
Bessinger, OSB and Sr. Sophia Ohnmacht, OSB.
Within a short time, mission stations in Kavango and
Owamboland were opened. On April 16, 1923, the Sisters took over the
administration and work in the Roman Catholic Hospital in Windhoek. On June 26,
1926, the Holy See approved the canonical erection of St. Benedict Priory of
Windhoek. The decades that followed were dedicated to the expansion and
consolidation of the work begun under mostly troublesome, arduous, poor and
difficult conditions. Sisters in 17 missions in Namibia and also 2 missions in
Angola (Cuchi and Serpa Pinto/Menongue) until 1975 served the people in
education, health care, pastoral work, farming and many others.
A turning point was reached in 1993. A Novitiate was
canonically established in the Priory. The first aspirant was a Filipina
followed by three Namibians.
The Priory marked another milestone in its history when
Sisters from the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Oshikuku requested
for integration. The process was done in different phases and Sisters were
accepted on the following dates: 2 Sisters were accepted on January 15, 1994; 1
on May 19 1998; 53 on August 29 1999, and 5 on July 1, 2000.
Due to expansion of the Roman Catholic Hospital and the
growth in membership in the Priory, the Priory House was transferred to
Nubuamis, Windhoek and was blessed on July 15, 2000.
To date, the Priory consists of 80 Perpetually Professed
Sisters, 28 Temporary Professed Sisters, 5 Novices, 5 Postulants and 3
Aspirants. From the 108 Professed Sisters, there are 88 Namibians, 6 Germans, 1 South African, 4 Filipinas, 3
Koreans, 1 Australian, 1 Angolan, 2 Nigerians, 1 Ugandan and 1 Tanzanian. The
Sisters serve in 11 mission stations and 1 outreach station in the fields of
education, health care, pastoral work, farming, catechism and first
evangelization, apostolate of prayer, parish work, hostel management and
feeding.
The following are the stations:
In Windhoek: St. Benedict’s Priory House in Nubuamis and St. Scholastica’s Community at Roman Catholic Hospital (RCH) in the City of Windhoek
In Swakopmund: Haus St. Benedikt
In the Kavango Region: Bunya Community at St. Eugene Roman Catholic Mission in Bunya; Shambyu Community at the St. Joseph Roman Catholic Mission in Shambyu; Tondoro Community at the St. Laurence Roman Catholic Mission in Tondoro; St. Scholastica’s Community in Namuntuntu.
In Owamboland: Regina Pacis Community in Ongha and Christ Our King Community in Ruacana
In Tsumeb: Tsumeb Community in St. Barbara Parish
In Outjo: St. Michael’s Community at the St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Mission
Outreach station: St. Anne Roman Catholic Mission in Omega, Kavango Region
