Sister Virgula Maria Schmitt will be remembered on Flores for her pioneering work in health care
Sister Virgula Maria Schmitt of the Congregation for Servants of the Holy Spirit died on June 27 at 94 at the congregation’s central convent in Steyl, the Netherlands. (Photo supplied)
Catholics in Indonesia’s Ruteng Diocese on Flores island are mourning the death of a German-born nun who for more than four decades was renowned for promoting health care.
Sister Virgula Maria Schmitt of the Congregation for Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) died on June 27 at age 94 at the congregation’s central convent in Steyl, the Netherlands. Her cause of death was not revealed.
The nun helped establish St. Raphael Hospital, which was founded in 1965, the same year she arrived in Flores. A year later, she opened St. Damian Rehabilitation Center for Lepers and Persons with Disabilities.
Both facilities are located in Cancar in Manggarai district and were the first church health institutions in the diocese.
In 2006, the nun also established a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities in Binongko, near Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai district, before retiring in 2014.
During her 49 years working in Flores, she was very popular among Catholics for her friendliness towards local people and her modesty.
“In the early years of her work, there were many challenges, including financial and complicated government regulations. But she dealt with all of that”
News of her death sparked an outpouring of grief on social media.
“For me, Sister Virgula is a saint,” wrote Elias Sumardi Dabur, a Catholic from Cancar who now lives in Jakarta.
Sister Maria Yohana Momas, provincial of West Flores SSpS Sisters, described her colleague as a strong religious who overcame various challenges in carrying out her ministry duties.
“In the early years of her work, there were many challenges, including financial and complicated government regulations. But she dealt with all of that,” she told UCA News.
“She was also a missionary who really got into the local culture. She was fluent in the local Manggarai language and knew local customs very well.
“She could have stayed in Flores and was surrounded by the people she served who loved her very much. However, she decided to return to Europe and left her work to be carried on by our fellow sisters. She did not look for popularity.”
In an interview promoting a book celebrating the 50th anniversary of St. Damian Center in 2016, Sister Virgula said she simply “does what God wants.”
“Every morning I always pray, ‘God show me what You want me to do today and help me to do it,’” she said, adding that “God must be at the center of our lives and work, not on the margins.”
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