Błogosławiona
Maria Teresa od św. Józefa (ur. 19 czerwca 1855 w Sądowie, zm. 20 września 1938 w Sittard)
Z pochodzenia była Niemką, jej ojciec był luterańskim pastorem, miała dwie siostry. W wieku 33 lat przeszła na katolicyzm. Założyła zgromadzenie Sióstr Karmelitanek od Boskiego Serca Jezusowego i razem z towarzyszkami w 1906 złożyła śluby zakonne, a także przyjęła imię Maria Teresa od św. Józefa. Zmarła w opinii świętości.

Beatyfikowana 13 maja 2006.

Schutzengel und Heilige.

Beiträge zu Engeln und Heiligen!

Maria-Theresia vom heiligen Josef (Anna Maria) Tauscher
Gedenktag katholisch: 20. September
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im Bistum Berlin: 30. Oktober
Name bedeutet:M: die Beleibte / die Schöne / die Bittere / die von Gott Geliebte (aramäisch)
T: von der Insel Thera (der heutigen Insel Santorin) stammend (griech.)
A: die Begnadete (hebr.)
Ordensgründerin
* 19. Juni 1855 in Sandow, heute Sądów in Polen
† 20. September 1939 in Sittard in den Niederlanden

Maria-Theresia Tauscher
Anna Maria war die Tochter eines evangelischen Superintendenten in Berlin. Im Alter von 33 Jahren konvertierte sie am 30. Oktober 1888 zur katholischen Kirche. 1891 eröffnete sie in Berlin ein Joseph geweihtes Heim für hilfsbedürftige Kinder, 1893 schlossen sich dieser Arbeit mehrere Frauen an, zusammen führten sie nun ein klösterliches Leben nach den Regeln der Karmelitinnen vom Göttlichen Herzen Jesu (Carmel D.C.J.) im Sinne der Teresa von Ávila.
1899 wurde der Sitz der Gemeinschaft nach Sittard verlegt. 1904 wurde Rocca di Papa bei Rom der Sitz des Ordens, im selben Jahr erfolgte die päpstliche Anerkennung. Der Orden breitete sich in ganz Europa, ab 1912 auch in Amerika aus. 1920 wurde das Generalat wieder nach Sittard verlegt. Beim Tod der Gründerin waren mehr als 1000 Schwestern in 58 Klöstern tätig.
Das Grab der Ordensstifterin ist in Sittard. Heute sind die Karmelitinnen DCJ in sieben Ländern Europas sowie in den USA, in Kanada, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brasilien und seit 1995 auch in Kamerun tätig.
Kanonisation: Der Seligsprechungsprozess wurde 1953 eingeleitet; 2006 wurde Maria in der Kathedrale von Roermond in den Niederlanden seliggesprochen.
Die Karmelitinnen vom Göttlichen Herzen Jesu stellen sich im Internet kurz selbst vor.
Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon
www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienM/Maria_Tauscher.…

The Life of Mother Mary Teresa of St. Joseph
Foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus

by Sister Maris Stella
In a small, far east German (now Poland) town surrounded by woods and creek, Mother Mary Teresa of St. Joseph entered the world. She was the first of eight children of Herman and Pauline Taushcer and was baptized Anna Maria. Maria was baptized by her grandfather, a Lutheran minister, and grew up attending the church services where her father, also a Lutheran minister, was pastor. Maria spent the first six years of her life in the quiet village of Sandow. With her father, who Maria described as "more of an artist than a pastor," she would go into the woods and play while he painted. Even in her earliest years, Maria's mother, who acted as mother to the poor and sick wherever the family lived, allowed Maria to accompany her on her visits. This made a lasting impression on the little girl. "The misery and poverty of the poor aroused in me a deep compassion, so much so that after so many years, I still remember the names of those families, their homes, their poor beds, and their unsanitary conditions." Maria also described herself as a "quiet, deep child" with a "remarkable endurance at play" and a painful shyness that would follow her throughout her life.

In her autobiography, Mother relates what she considers the greatest grace of her childhood:

I was sleeping, but it was unforgettable for me. In the drawing room I saw our Divine Savior surrounded by many children. His countenance, expressing love and kindness, enkindled in me the fire of Divine Love. From that time on I was more serious, for the picture of our Savior was always before my eyes and filled me with the desire that all children should love Him as I did. That there could be grownups who did not love Him, I did not even surmise.

Another of Mother's fondest memories was sitting at the feet of her mother as she told Maria and her sisters bible stories and other stories of faith which nurtured her love and trust in God.

When Maria was seven, the family moved to the small city of Arnswalde, as her father had been promoted a superintendent in the Lutheran Church. Here Maria first realized her desire that all children should love Jesus as she did. Though just seven years old , Maria asked her mother if she could invite other children to come to their house and hear her stories of the Divine Savior on Sunday afternoons. That week Maria went everyday to the marketplace and the Church square telling every child she met, "Come to us next Sunday afternoon and my Mother will tell us of the Savior and the heathen children." The next Sunday brought only two children to the Tauscher household, but Maria remained undaunted and repeated her invitation. The following Sunday Maria entertained over thirty children while they waited for her mother and between sixty and one hundred children in the following weeks. This became the start of the "Children's Divine Service" at the Lutheran Church of that town.

Sometime when she was five or six, Maria had made the resolution never to sin. Thoughts concerning her inner life often absorbed Maria as she earnestly desired not to offend God. In her perplexity, she one day interrupted her father and mother to ask , "Is this a sin?"

Her father only answered her, "Go away with your sins and leave mother alone!"

From that time on, Maria relied only on God for guidance in her desires to please Him.

Despite her shyness, Maria loved to please others. Near their home lived a poor, feeble-minded child who attracted the pity of Maria. With the help of an older friend, Maria took the child her favorite doll as a gift.

Just before Maria turned ten, her father was again transferred, this time to Berlin. In Berlin, Maria became an avid ice skater and chess player as well as lead actress in the tableaus she put on with her friends. She also accompanied her mother on her visits to the poor and enjoyed attending the church services.

After the death of her mother in Maria's twentieth year, 1874, Maria assumed her mother's responsibilities of running the family household, the parsonage, and several church societies.

Since Maria's youth, secularism had begun its sweep through Europe. Thus began the Kultur Kampf, a series of laws by which the Imperial Government of Germany attempted to restrict the activity and influence of the Catholic Church. Priests, religious, and bishops became outlaws and were forced out of the country. Churches were closed. In later years, Maria was to witness first hand the effects of the Kultur Kampf in Berlin where so many Churches had been closed that many people had to walk over an hour to the nearest Church.

This forced secularization did not leave the Lutheran Church untouched either, neither theologically nor legally. Many Lutheran ministers had begun to question even the fundamental truth of the Christian faith, belief in the Holy Trinity, and the Imperial Government enacted laws requiring the introduction of new rites and prayers which reflected a watered down theology. Maria followed all this with great interest, for her family was in the thick of the controversy as they held fast to belief in the Trinity and the old Lutheran rituals. Maria's mother had strongly supported her husband in his resistance to secularism and had helped to organize the meeting of prominent Lutheran pastors and politicians to encourage one another. Following her mother's death, Maria's father encouraged her to read the talks of the various political parties. Maria herself became hostess to prominent Lutherans from all fields and parts of Germany who came to visit her father.

In the midst of this, Maria's spirituality deepened. At her mother's death, she had experienced the closeness to God that resulted from suffering united with the Redeemer, Jesus. Now an ardent search for truth and a growing desire to prove her love for God by work and sacrifice took hold of Maria. She began to pray for humility, to read the Scriptures and The Imitation of Christ everyday, and to wait patiently for the time when she might prove her love for God by a "big sacrifice."

Four years after her mother's death, Maria's father remarried. Free from her household duties, Maria could devote all her time to the founding and organizing of a ladies' home mission organization. Within a short time Maria had gathered over forty young ladies who made and sold needlework to pay the salary of a missionary for there home city of Berlin. More than ever, Maria devoted her time to visiting the sick and poor. She also began a kind of youth group as she would gather together on Sundays the young girls near where she lived in order to keep them from demoralizing recreations.

However her search for truth and her desire to give God a "big sacrifice" in order to prove her love for Him remained unquenched. Under the urging of her father, she continued to read the speeches of the various members of the German parliament, but soon found herself interested only the speeches of the members of the Center Party, the Catholic political party in Germany. Through the speeches of the Center Party and her reading of Holy Scripture, Maria became imperceptibly "imbued with a truly Catholic spirit." To the chagrin of her father, this catholicity began to reveal itself.

Maria once asked her father if all Christians believed in the Perpetual Virginity of the Virgin Mary. Pastor Tauscher explained that one could "believe it if you want, but it is not necessary, and many do not believe it."

From her deepest conviction Maria replied, "Even if no one believed it, I, for one, would believe that the mother of God always remained a Virgin."

One evening several prominent Luthran Ministers were invited as guests to the Tauscher home. Discussing the Catholic belief in the infallibility of the Pope one minister said, "How can it be possible for a human being to declare himself infallible!"

Maria interjected quite simply, "It is not meant that way, but ex cathedra means the same as when the high priest of the Jews was prophesying only in his capacity as high priest."

The conversation quickly turned to another subject.

In 1877, Maria discovered that a man in Berlin who was revered for his piety and devotion was actually leading a very sinful life. This so shook Maria that she decided she would try a life without faith, practicing virtue as did the ancient Greek philosophers. After six weeks of her new way of life, a deep desire for God and prayer overcame Maria. With renewed zeal and energy, Maria now "worked to please God alone."
Maria's Sacrifice
In a quiet village not far from Berlin, the Tauscher family enjoyed a pleasant, quiet life as Maria approached her thirtieth year. Maria still spent her time in works of charity and prayer, yet her desire to make a "big sacrifice" continued to grow. As her thirtieth birthday approached, Maria felt an inner conviction that it would be the year God would call her into his service.

Not long before her thirtieth birthday, Maria received an invitation from Lady von C. to visit Bonn, a city in the far western part of Germany. Maria's father was glad to have her accept this invitation in order that she would have the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Rhineland.

Besides the wealth of her hostess and the scenery of the Rhine, Maria experienced something she had only dimly glanced at thus far -- Catholic life and faith. The piety expressed in the simple outdoor shrines in honor of the crucifix and the Blessed Mother, which Maria found scattered throughout the countryside, refreshed and renewed her spirit. When Maria entered for the first time the magnificent medieval Cathedral of Cologne, a city near Bonn, she immediately felt "at home." Yet she could not have imagined that just three years later she would kneel in this same monument of the Catholic faith to thank Our Lady for the grace of being received into the one, true Church.

Maria also had her first encounter with a priest while at the home of the Lady von C. Though Protestant, Maria's friends had invited the pastor of the local parish to dinner one evening. Taking a great interest in this first man of the Roman collar she had ever met, Maria turned the conversation to religion. As the conversation ended, the priest said to Maria, "But you are Catholic, are you not?"

"No, I have my own religion," she replied.

"But after all, what you believe is Catholic," said the priest.

Six months later, while visiting a family in Berlin, Maria read the following in a Cologne newspaper: Wanted: head nurse for a mental institution.
It seemed the answer to Maria's prayers. She immediately wrote to the institution and a few days later received a letter of acceptance. In the letter, the director informed her that "the whole institution, with few exceptions, are Catholic, except for me and my family. We are Lutheran." To her surprise, Maria received her father's consent immediately. On March 6, 1886, Maria boarded a train for Cologne to take up her new position at the Lindenburg mental institution.
Eager and enthusiastic, Maria boarded a train for Cologne, Germany, on the morning of March 6, 1886. Maria's desire for sacrifice to prove her love for God was finally becoming a reality. However, as the train sped farther from home and closer to Cologne and the Lindenburg mental institution, shy Maria's high spirits fell at the thought of the mentally ill with whom she had no experience, of living alone far from her family, and of having to meet so many new people. At the next stop, Maria ordered a good dinner with wine and having recovered her confidence, she prayed to God for help. The train arrived at Cologne in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. Maria then took the twenty-minute streetcar ride to Lindenburg.
That evening the head nurse of the institution, whom Maria had come to replace, led her through the hospital and introduced her to some of the patients. Without warning, Maria found herself at the bedside of a dying woman. Never before had Maria seen the agony-distorted face or heard the death rattle in the throat of a person in her last moments. With some effort, Maria managed to maintain her composure. As she lay in her bed that first night, the storm that had greeted her arrival in Cologne continuing to howl, the memory of the dying woman prevented Maria from sleeping at all. But had she not asked for a big sacrifice? Despite the horrible impressions of her first days, never did it cross Maria's mind to return to Berlin.
To bring cheer and happiness to the over one hundred mentally ill women and girls under her care at Lindenburg, became Maria's mission. To each of them, Maria became a true mother. So great a change did her love make at the institution that visiting doctors began to remark that life at Lindenburg was not institutional, but real family life. Maria used her salary to provide small feasts for the patients and to pay for the funerals of those who had no relatives.
As she ministered to the needs of the patients, the truly Catholic atmosphere in which she now lived also fed Maria's soul. Nearly everyone at Lindenburg, nurses, employees, and patients, were Catholic. Maria delighted in the observation of the May devotions in honor of Our Lady. She looked forward to the month of June when she would be able to purchase candles for the chapel in honor of the Sacred Heart. Two priests, Fr. Wiskirchen and Rector Bong, who visited the manager and patients at Lindenburg, became acquainted with Maria and gave her a catechism. As she read it, she found what until then Maria took pity on the poor woman and obtained permission from the director to accompany the woman to the chapel before she returned home for a few weeks vacation. On June 17, 1887, Maria and the woman entered the beautifully decorated chapel. As they knelt down in the front pew, High Mass for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus began.
At the end of Mass, Maria asked her patient to wait a few minutes, as she wanted to speak with the chaplain. In the sacristy, Maria found Fr. Wiskirchen. "Father, I want to become Catholic," she told the priest.
"You cannot do this so easily. First, on account of your father; and, second, you are going home anyway," Father replied.
For five months after her vacation, darkness filled Maria's soul as all will power and energy to overcome the obstacles to her entrance into the Church seemed to have left her. However, in January the clouds lifted and Maria began to secretly take instructions from Fr. Wiskirchen to enter the Catholic Church.
As winter turned into spring and Maria's entrance in to the Catholic Church drew near, she also prepared to leave Lindenburg, for she knew that the anti-Catholic sentiments of the director would make it impossible for her to remain at the institution after she had become Catholic. The officials of Lindenburg made every offer they could to convince Maria to stay, but to no avail, nor did she explain her reason for leaving. Secretly, Maria continued her instructions with Fr. Wiskirchen. In order not to disclose her whereabouts, Maria usually took a circuitous route to reach the priest's house. One day in May, during a heavy rainstorm, not caring if anyone discovered her, since she was leaving Lindenburg anyway, Maria took a short cut.

A few days later, Maria's father stood before her in the garden as she was walking with a lady. Maria knew why he had come. "Have you become Catholic already?" he asked as soon as they were alone. Maria assured her father she was not and tried to calm him. The next day, Pastor Tauscher took Maria back to Gusow.

It was not long before the director of Lindenburg wrote Maria's father promising to do everything he could to prevent Maria from entering the Catholic Church if her father would allow her to return to Lindenburg. Pastor Tauscher gave his consent, but before Maria boarded the train for Cologne, he demanded that Maria promise she would not become Catholic. "No, I cannot promise that," Maria said as she trembled with fear before her father and her weeping mother and sisters. She could only promise that it would not be that day or the next. With that, Maria boarded the train and left home forever.

In Cologne, Maria first called on her friends, Dr. and Mrs. Lohmer, who advised her that, since the director had called her back, to demand absolute religious independence. As soon as she arrived at Lindenburg, Maria went to see the director keeping the advice of her friends in mind. As soon as Maria mentioned "Catholic", the director declared, "Either you promise not to attend any Catholic Church and to stay away from priests, or you leave Lindenburg."

Maria remained silent as she considered her position. She could not return to Berlin, yet where else could she go? "I will not go to a Catholic Church, but if I cannot keep the promise anymore, I will let you know," she answered the director.

That Sunday, as Maria sat in her room and heard the church bells announce the start of Mass, she sank to her knees and wept. Never before had she felt so alone and forsaken. How to fulfill her desire of becoming Catholic? "Only God can do it," Maria told herself.

Several weeks later, Maria quietly slipped into the caretaker room to meet with Fr.. Wiskirchen and Fr. Bong during one of their visits to Lindenburg. After telling them of her desire to enter the Church and the prohibition of the director, the priests assured Maria that she could still be received into the Church. "Very well, then, please receive me tomorrow," Maria begged. Unable to do it himself on account of the director of Lindenburg, Fr. Bong arranged everything with the pastor of Holy Apostles Church, Fr. Esser. All was carried our in the greatest secrecy.

Now that Maria had officially become a member of the Catholic Church, she had to inform the director of Lindenburg that she could no longer keep her promise that she would not attend Mass. This Maria did on November 14, the Feast of All Saints of

Carmel, the day Carmelites throughout the world remember all those who have gone before them in holiness of life, a fact Maria did not know at that time.
"If you are a Catholic, I no longer have any confidence in you," came the director's angry reply. "I'll consult the superintendent at Cologne and then you will receive an answer."
Six days later, the director called Maria to his office. She was to leave Lindenburg on January 1, 1889 as there was "an excellent and experienced lady to replace" her.
In less than six weeks, Maria would be without both a home and means to support herself. She had already spent the last of her wages to buy coffins for several of her poorest patients. With the help of her friends, Maria began to look for a new home and work. Maria applied for several positions similar to her current one. Everywhere she was refused, due to the terrible references of the director of Lindenburg. Maria, however, knew she had asked God to lead her by "steep and stony way" and thus she could only thank God and trust in His continued guidance. Just before Christmas, Maria's confidence was rewarded. Through one of her friends, Maria was invited to live at a convent until she had found another position.
On January 7, 1889, Maria, "now the homeless one," arrived at the convent where she was greeted warmly by the superior. The superior first took Maria to the chapel where a sister was scrubbing the floor. Seeing the sister, a desire to do such menial tasks took hold of Maria and she asked the superior if she could help the sister. "Wait," the superior told her, "you will soon receive work."
The next day, Maria was given her duties. She was to clean the corridors and stairways of the annex and wash dishes for the sixteen elderly ladies in the nursing home attached to the convent. In her first days at the convent, the Forty Hours Devotion was also observed, a devotion which consists of forty continuous hours of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This was Maria's first experience of nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration. So filled was Maria with joy, that without realizing the time, she remained in prayer from nine o'clock in the evening until two o'clock in the morning.
Going about her daily routine of work, prayer, and solitude, Maria meditated on the Holy Family of Nazareth. When her body ached so badly from the unusual work that it interrupted her sleep, Maria thought of her Savior and His bleeding, weary body on the road to Calvary. Maria had never before known happiness such as this. Her happiest hours came, when in the evening, she could remain in the chapel, in prayer before her "Divine Lover." At the end of February, Maria became severely ill with an inflamed throat, so much that she could neither talk nor eat and had to remain in bed for many weeks. Maria regarded this too as the will of God. Instructed by God, Maria learned to embrace suffering with love and gratitude and found it transformed into joy.

"Is there really no work for me in this wide world?" Maria complained to the Blessed Mother as the weeks of searching for employment turned into months. As she recovered from her illness, Maria attended daily Mass at the nearby parish Church and made the Way of the Cross. Kneeling before the large crucifix, Maria concluded here prayer, "O, Lord, send me wherever You will to work for the salvation of souls. Fulfill the ardent longing of my soul, O God, to prove my love and gratitude to You. But, if it is possible, do not send me to Berlin. However, Your will be done, not mine."

Maria's real desire was to enter an Order. During this same time, Maria received an offer of marriage. But she "preferred to endure poverty and humiliations a thousand times over, rather than sacrifice her virginity. Once it is lost, the treasure is lost forever." And so with the help of her friends, Maria's search for employment continued.

Through Miss Kamper, Maria was introduced to Fr. Augustine Keller, a Dominican priest. Touched by Maria's story, Fr. Augustine said he would write to the Countess von Savigny in Berlin who might be willing to take Maria in as her traveling companion. Maria shivered at the thought of Berlin, yet a firm, "Not my will, but Yours be done," arose from her heart. A few days later Maria received an invitation from the Countess to come to Berlin.

Kneeling in the chapel the evening before he departure, Maria reminisced. She thought of Cologne where she had become a daughter of Holy Mother Church and where she had so many dear friends and acquaintances. She thought of the graces she had received in the silence and solitude of the convent. Above all, she thought of the many evenings spent in the darkness of the chapel in conversation with her Divine Lover in the Blessed Sacrament. The possibility of a long separation from Him "Who loves my soul" overwhelmed her.
On November 8, Maria arrived in Berlin and the home of the Van Savigny family. Though Maria was quickly acceted into the family circle, homesickness for Cologne and all it had meant to her left her in tears nearly every night. The nearness of her family, less than an hour's train from Berlin, only intensified the pain of rejection. In this depravation of even legimate joys, Maria understood that God wanted to become her ALL. After a few months, Maria had one consolation-visiting the poor. Priests with whom Maria became aquainted provided her with money and addresses of the destitute in Berlin. Though these sporadic visits lent her some outlet, they did not satisfy her longing to give her life completely to the service of God in the poor. The plight of the poor, especailly the children gripped Maria's heart. She longed to gather together these young ones who roamed the streets of Berlin, lest they become lost to the Sacred Heart, for there was no Catholic instutuion for children in Berlin.
One night Maria had dream. She saw a human body strechted out as though crucifcied with thorns covering it from it shoulders down to its feet and another crown of thorns on its heart. Maria understood that the body represented the Mystical Body of Christ on the earth, the Church with its Head, Jesus, in heaven no longer tormented by the powers of evil. The thorns around the body were the lasped and disloyal memebers of the Church and the of the world. The thorns around the heart stood for the sins of lukewarm and unfaithful religious and priests. When Maria awoke, she hurried to the early Mass with one desire- to make reparation, reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and beg God for the freedom of His Church Militant.
A week before the Ascension Maria and Countess Van Savigny returned to Berlin. The very next day, Maria went to visit Monsignor Jahnel, the Provost of Berlin.

“I was happy to see you at the communion rail this morning!” the Monsignor greeted Maria. Encouraged by this happy greeting, Maria explained to him her plan for a Catholic home for children. Msgr. Jahnel, too, had been contemplating such an idea. “First,” he ordered her, “you must look for a house.”

Maria had five-hundred marks the Countess had given her in gratitude and no experience in real estate. St. Joseph would provide. With the money Maria began to purchase the necessary things and daily wandered through the poor sections of Berlin in search of a suitable house. June, the month of the Sacred Heart passed with no success.
During the night of July 2, Maria had a dream.

I saw the Divine Majesty, God the Father in the clouds, in wondrous brilliance, directly above me. The right hand of God rested on the corner of a large, golden frame which enclosed a large cross on a background of silver. The cross was large, very large, and wrought most artistically in silver and gold. Lowering my eyes from the cross, I saw a great throng of Sisters spread over the entire hill on the top of which I was standing. The Sisters wore our habit, such as I had seen in the vision in Cologne, and they sang the Te Deum after I had become their superior.

Filled with amazement, I looked up to God, and then noticed that He was raising His left arm with the index finger pointing straight out. Following the direction indicated, I saw in the cloud the partly visible figure of the Divine Savior, just as God the Father also appeared, looking down upon me with an expression of heavenly kindness and love.

I was all on fire with an indescribable, rapturous ecstasy and filled with amazement. The wordless question arose within me: What does this mean? Without a word, in a moment, the meaning was revealed to me, “If you found this Order for me, if you take these sufferings upon yourself as signified by this large cross, then my Son will be your everlasting reward.

The next morning, Maria hurried to the Church of St. Hedwig, went to visit her poor, and then returned home. On her arrival the Countess told Maria that Monsignor Jahnel had come to see her and that she should go to his office the next day.

On July 3 Maria went again to visit the Monsignor. He had found a house for her and gave her the address. Maria went immediately to 112 Pappel Allee where she now stood in front of small, old house. Going inside she found that all the rooms, except for two and kitchen, were occupied by rough looking tenets with long leases. No one intended to move.

Nevertheless, Maria began to prepare the house to receive children.

Two days after her meeting with Fr. Dasbach, Maria sat in the office of Msgr. Jahnel awaiting his arrival for their eleven o'clock appointment. The Monsignor entered the room, and after a brief greeting, Maria told her happy news that she had everything necessary for a Chapel. Msgr. Jahnel, however, remained sceptical and refused to grant Maria permission until all the tenants had moved out of the house in the Papel Allee. Maria returned to the Van Savigny home and explained the whole affair to Miss Anne. The last tenants would not move until they had been paid 100 marks and Msgr. Jahnel would not grant permission until the little house was free of tenants. Miss Anne then placed 100 marks in Maria's hand.

Maria returned the next day to Msgr. Jahnel. By now it was the beginning of November. The tenants had agreed to leave the Papel Allee in two weeks and Maria hoped to open the chapel on December 8 in honor of the Immaculate Conception. Once again she was forced to wait, as Monsignor would not write the bishop for the altar stone until the people had actually moved out of the Papel Allee.

Two weeks later, Maria watched the last two men and women vacate the St. Joseph's home, paid them their 100 marks, and hurried once more to the office of Msgr. Jahnel.

This time he told Maria, "Now you may get the chapel ready, and I will write for the altar stone, which should be here in eight to ten days."

Maria now had the chapel, but she did not dare ask permission to have the Blessed Sacrament reserved.

With the help of the young ladies which made up the newly formed Sacred Heart Society to assist St. Joseph's home, Maria was busily preparing everything for December 8. One of them suddenly asked, "Could we all receive Holy Communion on this great day? Oh, Miss Tauscher, couldn't you please go to Monsignor and ask him?

Once again Maria stood in the office of the prelate of Berlin and presented her request. A few moments of silence followed before Monsignor answered, "I had planned to reserve the Blessed Sacrament."

Stunned, astounded, overcome with joy, Maria could only reply, "Yes, praised be Jesus Christ!"

Late in the evening on December 7, the last of the items for the chapel arrived. A wagon waited in front of the house to take Maria and her few possessions across Berlin to the St. Joseph's Home where Maria would take up her position as the sole guardian of the Blessed Sacrament. At nine-thirty, Maria went to Miss Anne's room to say good-bye. Suddenly frozen by terror and fear, Maria stood motionless. "My God," she exclaimed, "have you forgotten that I am only human?" Forcing herself past her horror, Maria gaveAnne a last embrace and
aced down to the wagon.

Half an hour later, Maria arrived in her new home. Working through the night to prepare the chapel for the morning's feast, Maria's sorrow turned into joyful anticipation. Msgr. Jahnel began the Mass at the stroke of eight o'clock and a few minutes later the great God took up His residence in the Papel Allee. That evening, after all the guests had returned home, Maria knelt in the darkness of the chapel before her Love. She was no longer alone.

In May of 1892 Maria had a dream. As she slept, she saw herself standing towards the top of a high cliff. Suddenly a wild rush of water flowed down over the cliff. Maria thought she would be caught up in the torrent, but turning her head to the left, she saw in the clouds a little crucifix. She stretched out her arms and felt her soul unite with the Suffering Jesus. Her soul was filled with an immense confidence in God and joy in suffering. Then from the right came another flood of water, greater and more furious than the first. It
joined with the first torrent creating a gigantic, roaring mass of water rushing around Maria. The next day, so overcome with a desire to prove her love for God by suffering, that she began a novena to ask God for suffering. The house in the Papel Allee was often cold and damp, so that the children became ill and, to Maria's great grief, several of the little ones died. At the advice of the doctor and with the permission of Msgr. Jahnel, Maria rented a house in the suburb of Orienburg and in June, went there with the children.
Maria left the St. Joseph's Home in the care of one of her sisters.

The children revived wonderfully in the new climate and on July 2, they returned to Berlin. There, Maria found a letter from Msgr. Jahnel waiting for her. Taking the letter, she went to the Chapel. After, greeting our Lord, she opened the letter:
Berlin July 1, 1892

Esteemed Miss:

Heretofore I have observed your effort and your wok with favorable interest. But gradually, I have become convinced that your foundation will not survive. I withdraw my approval and, I ask, therefore, that collection books, which no doubt have not created much revenue be taken back and submitted to me when convenient. I regret, that this institution,in which I had placed such great hopes, does not show itself able to survive.

With respectful Greetings,

Jahnel
Maria's nature felt the blow, but as in her dream she felt her soul plunged into union with her Divine, Suffering Savior.
A few days later, as Maria was leaving the St. Matthias Church after confession, a few of the ladies from the Sacred Heart Society came to her in great excitement, Miss Tauscher, they asked her, "Have you heard that the Msgr. Jahnel announced in the Catholic Societies that he has withdrawn his approval from you, and no one may give you assistance? Soon, a notice to the same effect was also published in the Catholic newspapers. Next, Maria received official notice from Monsignor Jahnel that she must vacate the Papel Allee by October 1, 1892, to which was added, *By no means go to the pastor Fr. Alesch, he is so angry with you, he will throw you down the steps. Fr. Alesch was the pastor of the nearest Church where Maria took the children to Mass when they had no priest. It was now August when finally, one morning before Mass, the resident chaplain, a priest studying in Berlin, informed Maria, The Monsignor, ordered me to consume the Blessed Sacrament this morning.

The summer passed into autumn and Maria persevered in prayer and work. Since no other home could be found for the ninety children in the St. Joseph*s Home, Monsignor Jahnel extended the lease until April of 1893. As the Feast of the Immaculate Conception drew near, Maria began a novena with the children that The Blessed Sacrament would return to the Papel Allee. In the middle of the novena Maria went once more to the office of the Delegature. To Maria*s great surprise, Monsignor Jahnel l received her.

"I had intended to visit you and see how things were going," he said in a friendly manner, "God permitted these things to try your faith."

Though the gossip surrounding Maria slowly quieted down, no retraction of the condemnations against her, either in print or from the pulpit, were made. And so, Maria continued to encounter both clergy and lay people who were in opposition to her and the St. Joseph's Home. Inspired by the humility and love for contempt of St. Francis of Assisi and St. John of the Cross, as long as God's work did not suffer, Maria was content to be treated like a rag. But for Maria, the hardest trial of these months remained the absence of her Friend. Monsignor Jahnel would not grant permission for the Blessed Sacrament to be reserved until a house chaplain once again resided in the Papel Allee. Through December, January, February, March, Maria continued to work and pray, but her soul felt as dormant and cold as winter. In the midst of this darkness, however, God deigned to visit Maria once again. In March 1893 Maria found a chaplain in Fr. Feldman and on April 1, the very day they should have evacuated the Papel Allee, the Blessed Sacrament was again reserved in the Chapel.
Since 1892, Maria had been sending out this call in the German Catholic publications throughout Europe: Who will save the white pagan child? She went on to described the spiritual and material misery of the poor and working class of Berlin and the need of others to join in the work she had begun. Maria called this band- 'Servants of the Divine Heart,' and in this way she gained both benefactors and volunteers. Many of the benefactors came personally to visit the Papel-Allee and wondered at the joyful and healthy appearance of the children, despite their poverty. However, most of the girls who came to Berlin soon returned home either appalled by the poverty and hardships or convinced by a priest that Maria Tauscher was crazy to think she could establish a religious community.

By 1894, the family of the St. Joseph*s Home had grown to over one-hundred children, forcing Maria to established two branch homes to accommodate all the children. Maria placed Sr. Bernadine, later Mother Bernadine, the first candidate and an unusually reliable young woman, as head of one of the new homes and another young volunteer in the other. However, most of the girls who came to Berlin soon returned home either appalled by the poverty and hardships or convinced by a priest that Maria Tauscher was crazy to think she could establish a religious community, leaving Maria to bear the burden of caring for over one-hundred children in three homes almost entirely alone. She personally handled all mail and correspondence, managed the books, and received the visits of benefactors and visitors in all three homes. In the spring of 1895, construction began on a new building in the Papel-Allee which Maria paid for herself entirely from the donations of benefactors.

As Maria's sleep dwindled, her health so declined that Msgr. Jahnel order her to rest lest she die and 'he inherit the whole miserable group.' Maria remembered a relative of Countess Van Savigny who lived in the mountains of Mariaschein, Bohemia. So, in September 1895, Maria left the home in the care of her sister Magdalena and left for a respite from her taxing duties. Maria asked the Countess who she would recommend for a confessor and it was thus that she met Fr. S. From their first encounter, Maria had an instinctive distrust of this priest who probed her about every aspect of the St. Joseph's Home. After several weeks Maria returned to Berlin from Mariaschein in order to prepare the chapel of the new building, which was soon filled with the Italians living in the neighborhood. The following Fall, 1896, Maria returned to Mariaschein for another brief rest. The pleas of the Countess and the sight of the poor children moved Maria to open a St. Joseph's Home in the nearby village of Graupen. During this visit, Fr. S was again her confessor. On this occasion, he also informed Maria that God had chosen him to lead this work and thus he demanded 'absolute obedience' from her.
In November 1896, the new building was ready for the children and the old building turned into the convent. From then on, Maria and the candidates combined their care of the children and home mission work with the observance of the Carmelite Rule and the Constitutions of St. Teresa of Jesus, the sixteenth century Carmelite reformer. This meant a life of prayer and penance, poverty, chastity, and obedience in community. Many priests tried to dissuade Mother from following the way of life of Carmel, but Maria remained undaunted.

I would let myself be crucified for the Carmel, either genuine religious according to the ideal of the founder or none at all.* she maintained. Maria had explained her ideal of living according to the old Rule and Constitutions of Carmel in a letter to Cardinal Kopp and regarded his silence as approval. Maria was also being advised by several priests to seek ecclesiastical approval in Rome for her community. The Carmelite priests with whom she corresponded told her that only the Father General in Rome could help her reach her goal. Fr. S had also come to Berlin in 1896 and with his fine words and charm won the admiration of all. To the priests and others under his spell, he openly announced his plan to use Mother*s foundation for his own intention. To this purpose, he gave conferences to the candidates in the Pappel Allee and also brought other young women to visit Berlin who wanted to join 'his' new congregation.

In January 1897, Mother opened a hospice for priests where also devout laymen, mostly members of the Center Party, the Catholic political party, could live. Now these priests could say Mass without having to walk a mile to the nearest Church. Cardinal Kopp donated a 1000 marks to the hospice. Near this time, Fr. S was again at the Pappel Allee. Before Mass, the day before the Feast of the Holy Name (at that time this was celebrated on January 1st), he announced that all those who had been at the St. Joseph's Home one year or more were to privately pronounce their vows during the consecration. He gave Maria the formula for profession which concluded with the clause 'according to the intention of Fr. S.' But, Fr. S had not explained his intention. The struggle in Maria's reason and conscience over the direction of Fr. S now broke into war. Obey, yes, Maria desired to obey even to the point of being stepped on and thrown about like rag. But how could one make a vow for which one had no preparation and the purpose of which was not disclosed! Maria remained in the chapel through the consecration, but hardly had she 'pronounce' her 'vows,' when she could no longer contain herself and raced to her cell. She took up the discipline and in her excitement threw it against the wall. The sound of the discipline hitting the floor startled her out of her fury. In a few minutes she had calmed down and resumed her interior struggle.

At half past six on the morning of November 24, 1898, a cab arrived in front of the St. Joseph's Home in Papel Allee. The sisters who composed the little "Society of the Sacred Heart" had all gathered at the front door to bid Maria and her traveling companion, Sr. Maria Teresia, farewell, and, with tears in their eyes, promised to pray and sacrifice for the success of their endeavor. Maria and her traveling companion boarded the cab, carrying with them a small statue of the Pieta covered with a black cloth, and disappeared down the street toward the train station. The train took the pair through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, until at last, near midnight, they heard the cry, "Roma, Roma!" Alighting the train, they quickly hailed a carriage that drove them to the Hotel Minerva.

The Eternal City! Maria's heartbeat fast the next morning as she hurried with Sr. Maria Teresia towards St. Peter's Basilica. At the first sight of the majestic building, with its outstretched arms, Maria caught her breath in amazement. Slowly, she and Sr. Maria Teresia ascended the steps that led to the entrance. "How did I come here?" Maria wondered, almost compelled to fall on her knees at the very entrance. She approached the "Confessio," and, after sending Sr. Maria Teresia to have a look around, remained there kneeling. She could only think in love and gratitude of all the times she had heard her father say, *Oh, go away with your St. Peter!* Had not Divine Providence brought her from the Lutheran church to the center of the Catholic world?

That afternoon, Maria delivered the letter of Fr. Kapenberg to Fr. Van Oldenberg and discussed with him her purpose in coming to Rome. He, in turn, recommended that she visit Msgr. Jaquemine, as he could best be of assistance to her. This good priest counsled her to first make a novena to St. Teresa of Jesus, the sixteenth century Carmelite Reformer, at the Church of Maria Della Scalla where a relique of her foot is venerated. Undaunted by the daily torrential downpours of Rome's rainy season the two faithfully made the forty-five minute pilgrimage for nine consecutive days.

Maria then visited the Carmelite Fathers in Rome. The father with whom she spoke simply informed her that they could do nothing for her until the Father General returned after Christmas. After visiting every possible priest, monsignor, and offical without coming even one step closer to obtaining any sort of approbation for her little community, Maria and her companion began a second novena at Maria Della Scalla. In the middle of the novena, Maria felt prompted to visit the Carmelite Fathers once more.

At the beginning of December, Maria visited the Generalate of the Carmelite Fathers once more. This time Fr. Benedict came to see her and greeted her: *I am very glad that you came again. I spoke to the procurator, Fr. G.R., and he is very eager to meet with you and discuss with you the means of assisting you.* Two more priests also joined the conversation, but nothing could be done without the Father General, who would not return to Rome until after Christmas.

Maria continued to wait and pray. She and Sr. Maria Teresia spent Christmas at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and after the services, went to see the Father General of the Carmelites, Fr. Bernadine of St. Teresa. He received them warmly, gave them sound advice, and told them to return the next day. On December 26, Father Bernadine blessed Maria*s scapular and received her into the Carmelite Order.

Maria was ready to return to Berlin immediately, however, without a written recommendation from a Cardinal, no bishop would ever except her and her Sisters as religious or grant permission for a Motherhouse. So, the following day, Fr. Benedict accompanied Maria to an audience with Cardinal Parrochi, the protector of the Carmelite Order.

The Cardinal received them kindly and, after a short conference, told them to return the next evening. The following evening, December 28, as the Angelus bells died away, Maria waited outside the office of His Eminence praying with the greatest intensity. Finally, after an hour, Fr. Benedict reappeared through the office door and from the expression on his face Maria knew she had received the longed for recommendation.

Full of joy and gratitude at having accomplished her end in Rome, Maria, now Mother Maria Teresa of St. Joseph, began the journey back to Berlin. Yet, she was not without a certain foreboding. In the eight weeks since she had left Berlin, she had received very little news from her Sisters. But just before Christmas, a telegram had been delivered to Mother reporting that the superiors of both St. Joseph*s Homes in Bohemia had abandoned their communities. In what condition she would find her little community, Mother did not know.

As soon as she had read the letter from Cardinal Kopp ending with the words, I hereby forbid you to wear the religious habit both within and outside of the institution, Mother Maria Teresa of St. Joseph hastened to Fr. K, pastor of the vicinity of the Pappel Allee and a loyal friend of the St. Joseph's Homes.
After Mother had told him everything that had happened in Rome and showed him both the recommendation of Cardinal Parrochi and the letter from Cardinal Kopp he asked her, "What will you do now?"

"Leave Berlin and look for a Bishop who will grant the permission for a Motherhouse and novitiate," Mother answered

"And what will become of the St. Joseph's homes?" countered Fr.K.

"St. Father Joseph will take care of them," Maria responded.

"Now," replied the Pastor, "God can show that it is His work."

That night Mother prepared for her departure from Berlin. On January 22, as the city of Berlin was just rousing itself from sleep, Mother and her ever faithful companion, Sr. Maria Teresia, boarded the earliest train for Bremen, a city in the northwest corner of Germany. In Bremen, a friend of Mother, Msgr. Grobmeir, believed her could obtain permission for a Motherhouse from the Bishop of Munster. At this same time, Mother also received an invitation from a priest in Leitmeritz (in present day Slovakia) to establish the Motherhouse.

With her companion, Mother now traveled east. Unfortunately, this priest had not asked the permission of the bishop, nor would the Bishop grant permission, as another order of sisters already resided in that town. The bishop of Munster also seemed hesitant to allow Mother into his diocese and, thus, she decided to press on southward to Regensburg.

On their way to Regensburg, Mother and her companion passed the long, nocturnal layover in Eger in the waiting room. Offered a quiet place to rest by a kind station official, Sr. Maria Teresia quickly fell asleep. Mother*s mind however, wandered from one St. Joseph's Home to the next, commending each of them to good God. "Lord what would you have me do?" she continued to pray.

"Lord Your Will be done. Forget me and think of Thee alone."

The next day in Regensburg, Maria went to the Carmelite Friars. The Father who received her believed it would be impossible to establish the Motherhouse in Germany and recommended that she go to the Netherlands. Mother also called upon another friend for advice, Fr. Bamberg. He concurred that the most likely place to obtain permission for a motherhouse and novitiate was the Netherlands.

Continuing her search for a Bishop who would grant approval for a Motherhouse and novitiate, Mother Mary Teresa arrived in Roermond, Netherlands with Sr. Maria Teresia on February 7 or 8 1898. Strangers in a totally strange country, they began wandering from convent to convent seeking lodging for the night. Finally, a sister at the Ursuline convent directed them to a family boarding house just across the street. There, a lovely Dutch girl opened the door to them and the mistress of the house, a widow, welcomed them warmly and showed them to the vacant room. Touched by Mother*s pitiable condition after almost three weeks of constant travel, the woman immediately brought her a glass of wine. "It doesn't cost anything," she added.

Once alone, Mother sank to her knees before the little statue of the Pieta that she had brought with her and implored the Mother of God to show her the way, to help her know the Will of God. She had only been alone a short time when a knock at the door interrupted her prayer and the kind hostess reentered the room. The woman asked how Mother was feeling and then began to pour out her own sad story. Only a few months ago, her husband had died a rather sudden death and thus she was forced to take in boarders in order to support herself and her daughter. "But the good rector never forsook me, he is a good, pious priest," she concluded

"Where does this good rector live?" Mother asked.

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