Sister Maria Hatwig ND 4761
Klara DOCTOR
Maria Regina Provinz, Coesfeld, Germany
Date and Place of Birth: October 14, 1929 Lindenau, Lower Silesia
Date and Place of Profession: March 25, 1954 Coesfeld
Date and Place of Death: December 8, 2024 Coesfeld
Date and Place of Funeral: December 17, 2024 Coesfeld, Convent Cemetery
“Do whatever he tells you!” (John 2:5)
Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave this advice to the servants at the wedding in Cana. This word also had a guiding significance for Sister Maria Hatwig’s life. She was attuned to God’s call and allowed herself to be guided by Him. For that, she had many opportunities in her long and eventful life.
Because the surroundings were already deeply snow-covered in October, Klara was taken to her baptism a few days after her birth in a horse-drawn sleigh. She was the eldest of four children born to Josef and Camilla Doctor. Her father, an electrician, died in a traffic accident as early as 1939.
Klara attended elementary primary and secondary school in Grüssau and then worked in a house-hold until she was expelled from her beloved Silesian homeland in 1946. The family moved to Ahlen. Here, Klara found the opportunity to support her mother in caring for the family by working in the large kitchen of the St. Michael schools with a boarding school. Soon, through the mediation of the sisters, she was able to attend business school. Afterwards, she completed the women’s vocational school for kindergarten teachers with the Sisters of Notre Dame in Mülhausen. During her training period, the desire to join the religious community herself grew within her.
In 1951, Klara began her postulancy in Ahlen. Her devotion to St. Hedwig, the patroness of Silesia, led to her religious name Sister Maria Hatwig. After completing her novitiate, Sr. Maria Hatwig was assigned as a group leader in kindergartens and boarding school groups. In various testimonials about these activities, “cheerful willingness to help, serious responsibility, skilful and wise approach, and empathy combined with genuine motherliness” were attested to her. After further training as a youth leader, Sr. M. Hatwig took over the practical instruction of aspiring kindergarten teachers at the Liebfrauenschule in Coesfeld. Another degree in the fields of social sciences and German studies, followed by a preparatory service, qualified her for the teaching profession. With great commitment, she taught again at the Liebfrauenschule in Coesfeld until a new assignment ended her teaching activities.
In 1986, Sister M. Hatwig was asked to take on the duties of provincial superior in the province of Mülhausen. In accordance with the words from scripture that accompanied her: “Do whatever he tells you,” she also said her yes to it. After completing a second term, Sr. Maria Hatwig returned to Coesfeld and became the provincial secretary, a position she held with great reliability and her characteristic precision. From 2008, after the merging of the German provinces, she contributed as a house secretary. In the last years of her retirement, she gladly took time for silent prayer and especially for reading. She took great pleasure in nature, especially in the spring when everything began to sprout and bloom again.
Due to the shared difficult experiences of their childhood, Sr. M. Hatwig was particularly close to her siblings. She always maintained good contact with them and their families. She gladly attended family gatherings in Krefeld. A special joy for her was when she received visits from her nieces and nephews from Italy during her vacations, which she often spent in the Alps.
After her 95th birthday, Sister Maria Hatwig’s strength gradually declined. Gratefully, she accepted the necessary help from the caring and attending sisters. Time and again, one could read the word “Thank you!” from her lips.
On December 8, 2024, a Marian feast, she once again heard the words of the Mother of God: “Do whatever he tells you.” In her attitude of “As God wills!” Sister Maria Hatwig entrusted her life back into the hands of her Creator, with whom she is now forever safe.
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