Within a few days all was arranged for conventual living as much as was possible in a private residence and Sister Clara appointed superior. As no constitution existed, they lived according to the Rule of St. Francis, the determined order of the day and the directives of Sister Clara. No mortification was too severe and the practice of penance was sweet and agreeable. During the month of November a brief devotion was held for the Poor Souls which was attended by the people of Olpe. By means of alms from the Loeser and Bonzel families, several weeks passed in relative peace and quiet during which the three Sisters prepared for investiture through prayer and good works.
These sketches by Mother Maria Theresia of the first days in the newly founded religious community are certainly not abundant. One ardently desires far more particulars. Still something previous lies in this treasured background of their first days in Olpe. The beginning was established. Now they had to prove themselves; with wholehearted zeal they undertook to prepare themselves worthily. They were able to begin their apostolate for the care of orphans immediately. At first their charges numbered four children. The Sisters provided for their care and educational development. Later as the children attended the city schools, they had charge of them outside school hours. The number did not remain at four but increased rapidly.
It must have been a great consolation for the three to see their apostolate flourish so well in the very beginning of the foundation. Success in their sphere of work proved the necessity for a new community in the active life. On this point we have an evaluation by Dean Goerdes of Drolshagen in a request he wrote to the bishop of Paderborn on October 25, 1860. Among other items was the following:
Views in regard to the new foundations vary. Many are in favor; many others are in opposition. Their objectives certainly are good and praiseworthy, provided they are carried out in a suitable and prudent manner. To my knowledge not a single institution exists in the whole of Sauerland for the care of orphans. Here a great need could be served. Such children are often obliged to earn much money for their upkeep under poor conditions. Their education is almost entirely neglected. They are employed to herd cattle or like jobs. Their school and church attendance is poorly provided for. There is no question that the orphans of this locality could be placed in their institutes, as I have learned from the Land and Administrative Councilor Meeting in Freusberg several days ago.
Here a great need is pointed out in a few brief sentences. Without doubt the parishes were responsible for the poor conditions that existed for the care of orphans. It is true that some families carried out their responsibilities toward these children very conscientiously. Others, however, just used these children. Child abuses were lessened considerably after the passage of the child labor laws. It would be an advantage basically for child placement in the home, if the respective families fulfilled their duties toward the child. But it happened too often that orphans were adopted for ruthless use in labor; their educational development and religious instruction were sorely neglected. The oft reiterated complaint of the sorry plight of orphans could not be denied. Thus it meant much for Olpe to have a group of idealistic minded women form a new community and dedicate their services to the care of orphan children.
Prospects for the new foundation in Olpe were favorable not only with respect to the apostolate but also to the increase in numbers. Following is a quotation from Mother Maria Theresia’s Chronicles:
Soon the daughter of Widow Schuerholz entered the small community as lay-sister and as postulant was called Miss Louise. Then Miss Lisette, a small foster-sister of Sister Clara was admitted. As seamstress she helped in the sewing room to make clothes for investiture. She herself was determined to remain a postulant. A young girl from Paderborn, who had previously been granted admission from Sister Clara, now entered. The entrance of Fredericka Boehmer, who had sought admittance, was postponed because of lack of space. In the following year, a house that had served as quarters for the soldiers, but was now vacated was remodeled as a convent for the Sisters. They moved into these quarters several weeks after Easter. Since this location had only a small space for a garden, the sisters utilized the garden of Widow Schuerholz near their present location. Fredericka Boehmer from Paderborn, Theresa Eisenbach from Olpe, and Anna Clemens from Rueblinghausen soon entered.
The new house into which the Sisters had moved was called the Zimmermann house, located on the street known today as the Railroad Station Street. The residence was acquired by Aline’s mother and placed at the disposal of the Sisters. Secured in early March, the house was remodeled and ready for occupancy by the Sisters several weeks after Easter. Since it was more spacious, it could accommodate the admission of additional candidates. One wonders whether by admission of the candidates, the new foundation wished to show its importance and give evidence of its purpose and vitality? Perhaps relative to Clara Pfaender, the bishop’s approval to occupy the new convent was a foregone conclusion. Otherwise, if there were not some certitude regarding the future, the simple acceptance of girls into the new foundation would be beyond comprehension.
It was evident to the energetic superior, Sister Clara, that the time of probation should not be filled just with prayer and work. While awaiting the final results, she endeavored in the interim to engage in some undertaking. Therefore, in 1860, before Pentecost, she went to Paderborn to report to the bishop on the progress of the new foundation and at the same time beg for investiture for herself and the other Sisters. Bishop Dr. Konrad Martin explained that first they must choose a Rule and then write a constitution. After that investiture would be in order.
Of the deliberations that must have gone on in the community, nothing is known. Discussions were held regarding the Rule to be adopted as a basis for community living. Aline Bonzel wanted the Franciscan Rule by all means. But seemingly she was not well acquainted with the basic Rules of religious orders, for with the exception of Aix-la-Chappelle, she had not come in contact with the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. Besides her stay with the Schervier-Sisters was more in the character of a visitor than otherwise. Clara Pfaender knew the Augustinian Rule from her convent days with the Sisters of Christian Charity. She felt she could write a constitution based on that Rule. Since she was the superior and responsible for admitting candidates into the community, it seemed advisable, in this very beginning, that she have the liberty to employ her full experience in religious life. Only on this basis, can one explain how a community which uniformly desired to live according to the Franciscan Rule, began with the Augustinian Rule, but with the intention of later converting to the Franciscan rule. In this procedure the character of the times can readily be detected. Many most likely saw basically little difference whether one lived according to the Augustinian or the Franciscan Rule. The development of a specialized spirituality came later and in many instances very much later. As mentioned before there might have been good reasons for the action at that time, but these are lost on the present generation. Still that decision was the source of very many difficulties in the future. Therein lay the cause why in a few years two communities developed from the one.
In the summer of 1860, in the joys of a successful and flourishing beginning one never thought of the sorrows to set in later. The constitutions were drafted and sent to the bishop for approval. That happened in August. The days passed quickly and foundation day was drawing nearer. But the approval of the constitutions and the permission for investiture still awaited a reply. With great impatience, Clara Pfaender wrote to the bishop on September 29, 1860:
… although for several weeks I have twice daily sent to the post office for the mail, I have thus far not received your gracious reply relative to the approval of the constitutions and the happy day of our investiture.
In all, three letters dated September 29, 1860, were sent to the bishop with the same request and with the probable idea that the request would carry more weight if the three first candidates — Clara Pfaender, Aline Bonzel, and Regina Loeser — would write the bishop simultaneously, individually, and in the same tenor. The letter bearing Aline Bonzel’s signature is of special interest to us. It is as follows:
His Excellency the Bishop!Most Reverend Bishop!
Your Excellency will graciously permit me to venture to write to you also to make known my most urgent requests and humbly to explain them.
One year has now elapsed since we engaged in our well-known