Sent Into Time

Sister Maria Canisia Engl, SSND

The French Revolution energized a movement toward “Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity” that greatly enriched the human community. At the same time this violent twenty-six years of revolution devastated society. The Catholic Church experienced widespread confiscation of convents and monasteries, including the school where young Caroline Gerhardinger (later Mother Theresa) was a student. Study the essay of Sister Maria Canisia Engl exploring this challenging time in which to found a religious congregation. Note the table of significant events that accompanies her presentation.

Sister Maria Canisia Engl is from the Bavarian Province. She was born into a German family in Western Bohemia and her family was forced to flee their home in 1945. She was professed as a School Sister of Notre Dame and was educated in History, Philosophy, German and English Languages, graduating from Munich University. She has served as both teacher and principal taking an active role in promoting German educational policy that has helped girls and women.

Sister Maria Canisia was active in the Association of Catholic Schools in Germany from 1980–1995, serving as a member of the executive board, as well as vice-president and president. She has published several articles on educational and spiritual topics. In 1987, she received the “Bundesverdienstkreuz,” the Order from the German Republic. In 2003, she received the highest decoration awarded in Bavaria, the “Bavarian Order of Merit.” In her presentation, Sent Out Into Time she has described the cultural context in Bavaria during the lifetime of Mother Theresa.