Sister Maria Paulitta ND5664 PDF Download
Christa SCHMEDES
Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld, Germany
Date and Place of Birth: November 27, 1941 Bühren/Emstek
Date and Place of Profession: April 07, 1964 Coesfeld
Date and Place of Death: August 17, 2025 Coesfeld, Kloster Annenthal
Date and Place of Funeral: August 21, 2025 Coesfeld, Convent Cemetery
Christa Schmedes was the daughter of Heinrich Schmedes and his wife Kunigunde, née Bothe. She enjoyed a happy, carefree childhood with her three siblings. She completed her elementary primary and secondary school education in her home village of Bühren in 1956 with excellent results. After that, Christa attended the women’s vocational school in Vechta. It was here that she first came into contact with the Sisters of Notre Dame. In Münster, she obtained her educational qualification for admission to women’s technical colleges for kindergarten teachers and after-school care workers before the examination board. At that time, she was already living as an aspirant at the Liebfrauenburg in Coesfeld. At the affiliated vocational school, Christa was able to attend the technical college for social pedagogy, which she completed with very good results in March 1961.
In the same year, Christa entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Notre Dame and received her religious name, Maria Paulitta, at her investment. After her first profession, Sr. M. Paulitta put her teaching skills to use at the “Herz Jesu” kindergarten in Bocholt. There she also had the opportunity to participate in the “Social Seminar,” an offering of the Diocese of Münster. In 1969, Sr. M. Paulitta took her final vows at our generalate in Rome.
It was her wish to work as a religious education teacher. So she prepared for her studies in Coesfeld and moved to Paderborn in 1969 to attend the College of Religious Education, which she completed in 1971. This was followed by her probationary year at a primary school in Rhede. In 1972, Sr. M. Paulitta returned to the Liebfrauenschule in Coesfeld for many years as a religious education teacher and later also as a school chaplain. Here she worked with all her strength and, above all, with deep joy. She saw it as her task to sensitize the young people entrusted to her to the faith, to discover and promote the values within them, and to equip them well for their future careers. From 1991 to 2001, she lived with two fellow sisters in the parish of Goxel in Coesfeld, where she found an additional field of activity.
After her active ministry, Sr. Maria Paulitta moved to Kloster Annenthal. Here, living together with our elderly sisters, she found a new field of activity. With her calm and thoughtful manner, she was a good listener. She was also always willing to run small errands in town, and countless trips by bicycle to doctors and pharmacies were never too much for her.
A few years ago, she began to experience health problems, and the loss of her left eye was a huge blow. Sr. Maria Paulitta loved the early morning. It was not uncommon to see her with her walker in the park or garden before breakfast, whatever the season. She quietly enjoyed nature, seeing growth, ripening, and harvesting as a great personal gift.
Sister Maria Paulitta maintained good contact with her relatives throughout the years.
In recent weeks, Sr. M. Paulitta’s physical weakness increased daily. She received competent care from the nursing staff and every support from her co-sisters.
As quietly as she had lived, she returned her life into God’s hands. A long life has been fulfilled in God.
