Maria Theresia Bonzel

In 1859, Maria Theresia joined Clara Pfänder and Regina Löser to care for orphans in Olpe. In 1863, following disagreements, Bishop Konrad Martin established the Olpe community as an autonomous congregation: the Poor Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration. Mother Maria Theresia became its superior. During the Franco-Prussian War, the sisters cared for the wounded. Faced with the persecutions of the German Kulturkampf that threatened the institute, she decided to expand to the United States in 1875, thereby ensuring the survival and international development of her work.

The reputation of holiness of Mother Maria Theresia Bonzel, sustained by her heroic charity and Eucharistic piety, led to the opening of her cause for beatification in 1961. After the examination of her life and writings, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree recognizing her heroic virtues on March 27, 2010, bestowing upon her the title of Venerable.

A miracle that occurred in 1999 in Colorado (United States) paved the way for her beatification: the sudden and scientifically inexplicable healing of a four-year-old boy suffering from a serious chronic gastrointestinal condition, following a novena of prayers addressed through the intercession of the foundress. Pope Francis approved this miracle on March 27, 2013. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on November 10, 2013, at the Paderborn Cathedral by Cardinal Angelo Amato.

The spirituality of Maria Theresia Bonzel is based on her motto: "Just as God wills it. He leads, I follow." She knew how to combine Eucharistic contemplation (perpetual adoration) and charitable action for the most destitute. Today, the Poor Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration continue their mission of education and care in Germany, the United States, the Philippines, and Brazil. Her relics are venerated in St. Martinus Church in Olpe.