November 26, 1932 – September 9, 2024
Sr. M. Armella was born on November 26, 1932 in Leutenbach (Oberpfalz).
She was the third child of her parents, Nikolaus and Kreszentia Meier, née Klein. She was baptized on November 27, 1932 in the parish church of Deining and given the name Anna.
With her five brothers and sisters, she experienced a happy childhood and attended elementary school in Leutenbach. Two of her siblings are still alive.
In 1948 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Abenberg. She attended the kindergarten seminar here but was unable to complete her training due to illness. After the novitiate, she caught up on her training and completed it with the exam.
On August 12, 1950, she was invested and received the religious name Sr. M. Armella of the Crown of Thorns. After the two-year novitiate, she made her first profession on August 12, 1952, and her final profession in 1957.
After the novitiate, Sr. Armella worked as a kindergarten assistant in Friesen (Upper Franconia) and in Buxheim. In Friesen she was also the manager of the local community for a while. She was a kindergarten teacher in various branches, including Abenberg.
In 1979 she was transferred to Bad Dürrnberg near Hallein in Austria. There she worked at the reception of the order’s own St. Josef health resort. She also took over the sacristy service in the chapel there and played the organ at the church services.
She was held in high regard by the spa guests and staff, and she provided guidance through conversations. She enjoyed sharing her talent for a wide range of handicrafts with the spa guests and other people.
Sr. M. Armella was always a sensitive, kind sister, always friendly and accommodating, and had an open ear for the needs of her fellow human beings! Living a good religious life was close to her heart.
In October 2009, the community of sisters at the St. Josef health resort was dissolved and Sr. M. Armella came to the St. Josef senior center in Abenberg. Here, too, she took over the sacristy service and, to the delight of the residents, offered occupational therapy through many small and large handicraft activities.
After moving to the newly built senior center, she lived in the sister’s convent together with her three fellow sisters. She was well cared for by the nursing staff of the senior center.
After her last stay in hospital, her physical strength diminished more and more.
So the Lord God called Sr. M. Armella to her eternal home on September 9, 2024. We will miss her quiet nature.
On Thursday, September 12, 2024, on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, she was buried in the sisters’ cemetery in Abenberg; afterwards we celebrated the Requiem in the Stilla Church. Her siblings, nieces, nephews, fellow sisters, the director of the facility, Mrs. Ursula Reichmann, and employees of the senior center accompanied her to her final resting place.
Rest in peace!
Submitted by Sr. Beate Nieberler