Sister Maria Irmengarde ND 4704 PDF Download
Magdalene Therese BUSCH
Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld, Germany
Date and Place of Birth: June 30, 1931 Essen-Rüttenscheid
Date and Place of Profession: April 20, 1954 Mülhausen
Date and Place of Death: July 11, 2025 Mülhausen, Haus Salus
Date and Place of Funeral: July 18, 2025 Mülhausen, Convent Cemetery
“In him we live, we move and we are.” Acts 17:28
Magdalene Busch was the first of three children born to Hermann and Maria Busch. By her own account, she had a sheltered childhood despite the serious illness of her father and the early death of her little brother. At the age of 5, Magdalene went to early communion, prepared for it by her parents.
Sr. Maria Irmengarde also told of the threat of war, of the persecution of Jewish people (her best friends were among them), of nights of bombing and being buried under rubble, and of forced evacuation. The family survived these threatening situations thanks to their deep-rooted faith. Due to the war, attending elementary primary and secondary school was not easy in the early years. The destroyed apartment at home made it necessary to move into the boarding school in Mülhausen in 1946. When Magdalene began her postulancy in 1951, she was under a double burden: the introduction to religious life and the preparation for the Abitur.
At her investment, Magdalene was given the name Sr. Maria Irmengarde. After her first profession in 1954, she was responsible for a group in the boarding school in Rheinbach. At the same time, she studied at the teacher training college in Cologne to become a teacher at elementary primary and secondary schools. Until her second teaching examination, she taught at our school in Ratingen and attended the 6-semester course to prepare for the teaching profession at middle schools with the subjects biology, physics and chemistry. After 15 years of teaching at our Liebfrauenschule in Mülhausen, in 1975, Sr. Maria Irmengarde was appointed head of the girls’ middle school in Geldern, which was run by the diocese of Münster.
After retiring from teaching, Sr. M. Irmengarde remained active. She trained as a hospital chaplain, was involved in pastoral care for the elderly in the parish, took on organist duties and gave private lessons. She looked after asylum seekers with great enthusiasm and empathy. Her regular visits to the retirement home “Haus Golten” were much appreciated by the residents.
Sr. M. Irmengarde remained associated with the “Liebfrauenbund”, a group of women associated with our community, which she founded, until the end.
In 2013, she moved to Haus Salus in Mülhausen together with Sister Maria Gertrudis. She settled in quickly, recovered and enjoyed the leisure of everyday life as a senior citizen, the social activities in the house and living and praying in community. She enjoyed conversations about current events in the congregation, the church and the world.
As her strength diminished over the years and the effects of illness became noticeable, she said that she was ready to say goodbye but emphasized: “Someone else will decide when the time has come.”
After Sr. Maria Irmengarde had lived and worked together with Sr. M. Gertrudis in Geldern for almost 40 years, she was called home by God only 18 days after the latter’s death. In the Gospel of the day of her death, we heard Peter’s question: “We have left everything… What will we receive in return?” and Jesus’ answer: “You will … gain eternal life!” In faith, we know that this promise has now been fulfilled for Sister Maria Irmengarde.
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