Sister Maria Gertrudis ND 5601 PDF Download
(formerly: Sr. M. Geltrudis)
Maria Anna LOHMANN
Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld, Germany
Date and Place of Birth: 04 September 1938 Holdorf
Date and Place of Profession: 18 April 1960 Coesfeld
Date and Place of Death: 09 October 2025 Coesfeld, Kloster Annenthal
Date and Place of Funeral: 14 October 2025 Coesfeld, Convent Cemetery
“Lord, show me your way, guide me on the right path.“
Maria Anna was the fifth child of Josef Lohmann and his wife Elisabeth, née Glandorf. Her call name was Marianne. When she was two years old, the family moved to Lohnerwiesen / Lohne. Marianne enjoyed a sheltered childhood surrounded by her four siblings. At the age of six, she started school in Lohne. After leaving school, she took a job in a household in Lohne. Marianne writes in her CV: “Despite the heavy workload – there were nine children and a business household – I put my heart and soul into this work and became very attached to the children. It was only the thought of becoming a Sister that prompted me to leave the Holthaus family.” Her job reference states: “Marianne was honest, hard-working, and tidy. She was always kind and good to the children.” Marianne continues in her CV: “On October 1, 1955, I arrived in Damme, happy and grateful to be much closer to my goal.” In Damme, Marianne worked in the kitchen and with the preschool children at the Notre Dame children’s home until she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Coesfeld on May 15, 1957.
After her first profession, Sr. Maria Gertrudis was transferred to Handorf. Here she took over the leadership of a girls’ group. However, she was drawn to the north of the province, close to her home. She worked in the kindergartens in Meppen and Essen/Oldenburg and was also given responsibility for the chapel. Her time as a group sister at St. Antoniusstift in Damme from 1964 to 1968 was interrupted by her tertianship in Rome. Sr. Maria Gertrudis made her perpetual vows at our generalate in Rome on May 28, 1965. She was then entrusted with a group of 13 children aged 2-4 in Damme. She led the group lovingly and consistently.
In April 1968, Sr. Maria Gertrudis began her training as a pediatric nurse at St. Johann Children’s Hospital in Osnabrück and completed it in April 1971 with good results. For the next 31 years, the Marienhain Children’s Home in Vechta became her field of activity. Sr. Maria Gertrudis had a gift for caring for and nurturing children with special needs. As a result, children with developmental deficits were brought to her from various institutions. With patience and loving consistency, she cared for all the children entrusted to her. For many years, she worked together with her sister Käthe.
Over the years, Sr. Maria Gertrudis developed health problems that made it impossible for her to continue working in the group. She then devoted herself to caring for elderly and sick fellow sisters as a nurse until she herself became increasingly dependent on help. Walking became increasingly difficult for her. Soon she was confined to a wheelchair. When the nursing station in Vechta was closed in 2017, Sr. M. Gertrudis moved with other sisters to the nursing station of the senior center in in Coesfeld. Recently, diabetes and circulatory problems led to the partial amputation of her left foot. Sr. M. Gertrudis received competent help from the nursing staff and every support from her fellow sisters.
May our good God now show her the way to his heavenly kingdom.
