Sister Maria Luise ND 4242 PDF Download
Maria Gertrud OSTROP
Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld / Germany
Date and Place of Birth: 21 August 1930 Gelsenkirchen-Buer
Date and Place of Profession: 09 April 1953 Mülhausen
Date and Place of Death: 17 October 2026 Mülhausen, Haus Salus
Date and Place of Funeral: 26 October 2026 Mülhausen, Convent cemetery
“Then Jesus called a child over and placed it in their midst.” Matt. 18:2
Sister Maria Luise was the seventh of 11 children born to Franz and Mathilde Ostrop. From 1937 to 1941, Maria attended the Catholic elementary school in her hometown of Polsum (Recklinghausen district); she then attended the Ursuline High School in Dorsten until it closed in 1944.
After the war ended, she attended vocational school in Marl and helped her mother with the housework and caring for her younger siblings. Maria expanded her home economics skills at the rural women’s school in Geldern, which was run by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
In 1951, Maria began her novitiate in our congregation and was given the name Sister Maria Luise. After her first profession, she successfully completed her training as a kindergarten teacher and after-school care provider at the kindergarten teacher training college in Mülhausen-Oedt. She then began her decades-long ministry in the greater Duisburg area—for nearly 40 years, she directed the St. Franziskus Kindergarten in Duisburg-Hamborn. In the commemorative publication marking the kindergarten’s 35th anniversary, we read: “It’s no wonder that most people in Ostacker (a neighborhood of Hamborn) know and appreciate her. After all, almost everyone has attended her kindergarten. Working collaboratively with the teachers and assistant teachers at the kindergarten, she has dedicated herself to the development of the young children. Anyone familiar with kindergartens knows what a tremendous educational and religious effort is made there. The parents know this and want their children to attend this kindergarten. Sister Maria Luise is a religious sister and belongs to the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame, which has always been particularly committed to young people. Through her piety and her love for the people of Ostacker, Sr. M. Luise has borne witness to the Good News of Jesus. (…) We are delighted that Sister Maria Luise has remained faithful to Ostacker and thank her most sincerely for her tireless dedication to our neighborhood.
After retiring from her work at the kindergarten, Sr. Maria Luise moved on to a new area of service and began providing pastoral care on a volunteer basis at three senior living facilities in Duisburg-Ruhrort. Her friendly, caring, and open manner was greatly appreciated both in her educational work at the kindergarten and after-school care center and in her volunteer work with the seniors.
Sr. M. Luise knew very well how to prepare and organize celebrations, and she was right in the middle of them herself.
After the closure of our convent in Duisburg-Laar, to which Sr. Maria Luise also belonged, she moved to our community in Mönchengladbach, until she eventually moved to Haus Salus in Mülhausen in 2014. To the best of her ability, she initially contributed to our community here with sensitivity and kindness. As long as she was able, she participated in community life, church services, and social activities.
The reading for the day of her death states: “But our citizenship is in heaven.” (Phil 3:20) In faith, we know that Sister Maria Luise has arrived at her home with God.
