90 years of a certificate of faith: anniversary of the mission sisters in Wernberg

90 years of a certificate of faith: anniversary of the mission sisters in Wernberg

In a magnificent festival service, the mission sisters celebrated the impressive 90th anniversary of their branch in Wernberg on Sunday. Bishop Josef Marketz directed the ceremony and, in his moving sermon, honored the decades of work of the sisters, which has developed from modest beginnings into a radiant testimony of faith. "90 years full of dedication and charity," said Marketz, who praised the sisters for their tireless efforts, in particular their work with refugees and in the interreligious dialogue, which he described with a passion that was unique in Carinthia, as he emphasized.

celebrations and challenges

With a lot of heart, a festival academy and panel discussions were also held after the service to celebrate the anniversary. Marketz also addressed the pressing problems of the monastery community, which suffers from the aging of the sisters. Some services will have to be hired in the future. Nevertheless, the bishop encouraged the older sisters with words of consolation and hope: "God does not leave you alone, he is the future and will give you the future too." The mission sisters, which were founded in South Africa in 1885 and today form the largest female religious community in Carinthia, are primarily known for their spiritual contribution and their social projects.

The monastery, which is housed in a historic castle, not only offers a variety of educational offers, but also a guest house and a monastery shop that sells regional and biological products. As the Wernberg monastery itself revealed, there are rooms for seminars and lectures that make the sisters appealing and inviting. Independent products that are also offered in the monastery restaurant are generated in the monastery agriculture. This multifunctionality shows the connection between tradition and modern service, which the Wernberg monastery embodies and which was also expressed in the celebrations, as is recorded in the information of the monastery.