January 6, 1938 – July 20, 2022
Sr. M. Irmtraud was born on January 6, 1938 in Pondorf. She was the second child of the parents Karl Dietl and Barbara Dietl born Plank.
She was baptized on January 9, 1938, with the name Margarete, in the parish church of St. Peter and Paul in Pondorf. In 1949 she received the sacrament of confirmation in Riedenburg.
She grew up with three siblings; she is survived by her brother Karl.
From 1944 to 1952 she attended eight years of elementary school and then one year of professional school.
On October 3, 1953, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Abenberg as a candidate and attended a preliminary course for kindergarten teachers, followed by the two-year kindergarten seminary. She finished the training with the official state examination as a kindergarten and after-school teacher.
On August 12, 1957, she received her habit and the name Sr. Irmtraud vom hl. Antlitz. She made her First Holy Profession on August 12, 1959, and her Perpetual Profession in 1964.
A few days after Holy Profession, she moved to Bamberg as a kindergarten teacher in the parish of St. Kunigund, where she worked for 10 years.
In 1969, she was transferred to the local community in Schwabach. She worked in the kindergarten St. Sebald for 11 years and kept very good relations with former kindergarten children in Schwabach until her death.
In 1980 she was transferred to Burgoberbach. At the Burgoberbach kindergarten, she served as the kindergarten director.
After working for two years in Burgoberbach, she was called to Eichstätt in 1982 to serve at the St. Stilla Mothers’ Retreat Home. The new retreat home was an institution for “mother and child”. The field of activity of Sr. Irmtraud in the kindergarten there was very diverse and at the same time a great challenge for her, because every three weeks she had to take care of new children, build up relationships and trust and let go again.
She returned to Abenberg in January 2001. She was involved in different areas of the senior center: day care and a few days during the week at the gate service. She lovingly cared for Sr. Hildegardis until the pandemic brought the restrictions.
Sr. M. Irmtraud had an open heart for the poor and needy people who would call or knock at the convent door.
The steady loss of sight and hearing caused her a great suffering!
She was a silent prayerful person and, as her eyesight diminished, a listening prayerful person in the community. She loved the feast days, she was a good storyteller and the carnival was not to be missed.
Too soon she had to say goodbye to things she loved and we, too, say “Praise God!” for her willingness to serve God and people.
Following a fall, she was admitted to Neuendettelsau Hospital, where a fast-growing, inoperable brain tumor was diagnosed. During this difficult time in the hospital, Sr. M. Raphaela Gottschalk lovingly took care of Sr. M. Irmtraud. Even her brother or nephew could still visit her in the hospital and say goodbye to her.
On St. Margaret’s Memorial Day, July 20, 2022, she was called to her eternal home from Neuendettelsau Hospital.
On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, she was buried in the Sisters’ Cemetery at Marienburg. Afterwards we celebrated the Requiem in the Stilla Church. Her nieces, nephews and acquaintances were also able to say goodbye to her.
Rest in peace!
Submitted by Sr. Beate Nieberler