(April 21, 1937 – March 11, 2022)
Sr. Edgara was born in Modschiedel as the fifth of six children to Andreas Schmitt and Margarete Schmitt (née Herold).
On April 22, 1937, she was christened in Modschiedel and received the name Anna. She was confirmed on July 6, 1948 in Weismain, diocese of Bamberg.
She attended the elementary school in Modschiedel and then the agricultural vocational school in Modschiedel. During this time, she worked for her parents.
In 1953, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Abenberg. In the same year she began training in needlework at the women’s technical school in Würzburg. After this training, she attended a pedagogical course in Würzburg and completed it in 1956 with the 1st teaching certificate.
On August 12, 1956, Sr. Edgara received her dress. In the second year of novitiate, Sr. Edgara was allowed to do the prescribed internship for teaching qualification and taught at the Volks- und Klöppelschule in Abenberg and as a temporary teacher in Denkendorf.
She professed her first vows in 1958 and her perpetual profession in 1963.
In 1960, Sr. Edgara was able to take the 2nd teaching certificate and thus attained the prescribed teaching qualification.
She worked for 5 years as a needlework teacher at the elementary schools in Denkendorf, Zandt, Dörndorf and Gelbelsee. During this time, she lived in the nursing home there and she felt that the service to the sick appealed to her more. Since there was a lack of nursing staff Sr. Edgara was allowed to retrain. From 1964 she attended the 3-year nursing school in Bensberg near Cologne and graduated as a nurse.
From 1967 she served three years in the hospital Marienburg in Abenberg.
In 1969, she was transferred to Mellrichstadt, the birthplace of our Venerable Mother Frances Streitel, and worked in the district hospital there until 1975.
In March 1975, Sr. Edgara returned to Abenberg to the hospital owned by the Order. Due to the political reorganization, the hospital was closed in 1994.
In the fall of 1994, she went to Goiania (Brazil) with two other sisters and worked there as a needlework teacher in the after-school care center. In many additional hours she turned the children’s work into successful works of art.
In 2000, she returned to Germany and since then she worked as a nurse in the nurses’ home. Her youngest brother had a severe kidney disease; therefore, she donated a kidney to him in 2001 and he was allowed to live with it for another 15 years.
In 2019, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy. Despite her illness, she was caring and had a sympathetic ear and a wide heart for the little and bigger worries of the sisters. Her willingness to help knew no boundaries. She patiently endured her pain.
At Maria Kirsch’s funeral she was deeply involved in the service and the burial. Afterwards she suddenly became very ill and was dependent on intensive care. She was grateful for every little hand movement.
A heartfelt thank you to the nursing staff and fellow Sisters for their services to Sr. Edgara.
She went home in peace on March 11, 2022, accompanied in prayer.
On March 17, 2022, she was buried in the Sisters’ Cemetery in the presence of fellow sisters, nieces and nephews, staff members and former hospital employees. Afterwards, everyone celebrated Requiem Mass together in the Stilla Church.
Rest in peace!
Submitted by Sr. Beate Nieberler