August 21: The German Sister

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is August 21st, and our story is The German Sister. Mother Pauline von Malinkrot never planned to come to America. She loved her native Germany and saw the religious order she founded, the Sisters of Christian Charity, as a German order. God, however, had different plans. In 1817, Malincrot was born to a Catholic mother and Protestant father. Her father, a prominent politician, allowed his wife to raise his daughter and her siblings as Catholics. But when, as a young woman, Malincrot started showing inclinations to religious life, he put his foot down.

For years, Malinkred contented herself with doing charitable works in her local community, visiting the poor and the sick, opening a daycare for the children of working mothers, and eventually founding a school for the blind. She also helped raise her sister and two brothers after her mother's early death. By her 32nd birthday, however, her father had also died. Her siblings were married, and her charitable works had grown so numerous that her local bishop urged her to found a religious community. She complied, and on August 21, 1849, finally realized her dream of becoming a religious.

Over the next two decades, the Sisters of Christian Charity flourished, growing to 250 sisters running 20 different charitable enterprises. Then the German Kulturkampf began. The sisters had to choose, disband or leave their country. They chose to leave, with one group of sisters heading to Chile, another to Belgium, and the rest to America.

The first group to arrive in the United States went to New Orleans. The second, which included Mother Pauline, settled in Wilkes Bar, Pennsylvania. There, in 1873, they established the order's new American mother house. After that, Mother Pauline was perpetually on the move, spending the remaining eight years of her life traveling between Chile, Belgium, and the numerous houses springing up across America.

Eventually, her order had houses in 16 dioceses, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York, and Detroit. Today, although smaller in numbers, Sisters of Christian Charity in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois continue the work first begun by the now-blessed Pauline von Mollenkraut.

Mother Pauline's life shows that faith and charity can transcend borders and personal plans. Her flexibility in following God's will demonstrates courage and adaptability, while her dedication to service reminds us that enduring impact requires sustained effort. Identify one act of charity or service you can perform this week to support someone in need.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, August 22nd, for another story of faith and courage in America.