Brixen Province Commemorates Anniversary of the Death of Mother Beginner

On 31 July, as we do every year, we commemorate the death of our Mother Beginner in a special way. The Provincial Superior of Brixen always invites all the communities in the province to take part.

This year, we are organising the commemoration of Maria Hueber’s death in the form of a ‘Transitus’, modelled on the Transitus celebration of St. Francis. We begin the celebration at Maria Hueber’s grave. Unfortunately, many sisters are unable to make the pilgrimage to the grave due to age-related ailments and also because of the intense heat; so a smaller group goes to the grave, places a beautiful bouquet of flowers there on behalf of everyone, and holds a short prayer service. We then proceed in procession, accompanied by the singing and drumming of our African sisters, to the Motherhouse, where the sisters are already waiting for us in the chapel. Sr. Anna Elisabeth Rifeser has selected texts from the original documents concerning the death of our Mother Beginner, which are read out in sections. After each section, a short meditation on the passage is read and a prayer of intercession is offered, especially for the elderly and the sick. We conclude our prayer service with an English hymn, which Sr. Grace Mary Yefon wrote and composed especially for this occasion.

Our joy and gratitude for our Mother Beginner are then expressed in the refectory, where we gather to continue the celebrations over some delicious ice cream.