Clara Fey

In 1837, supported by her brother Andreas (who had become a priest and vicar of St. Paul's parish in Aachen) and by her spiritual advisor, Father Wilhelm Sartorius, Clara Fey decided to take action. With a group of friends sharing the same ideal, she rented a house in Aachen to open a free school for poor and orphaned children. They provided them with food, clothing, basic instruction, and religious education.

To perpetuate and structure this work of education and charity, Clara Fey and her companions decided to dedicate themselves entirely to God. On February 2, 1844, they officially founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus (Schwestern vom armen Kinde Jesus). The community first settled in a former Dominican convent on Jakobstraße in Aachen. The sisters adopted a rule of life inspired by that of Saint Augustine, combining an intense contemplative life with an active apostolate for disadvantaged children. Clara Fey took her religious vows in 1850 and was elected Superior General of the institute, a position she would hold until her death.

Under her leadership, the congregation experienced rapid development. The sisters expanded their work by opening primary and secondary schools for girls, orphanages, homes for young working women, and vocational workshops (notably for embroidery and wax sculpture) to enable young girls to support themselves. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the sisters also dedicated themselves to caring for the wounded.

However, starting in 1875, the congregation was hit hard by the Kulturkampf, the anti-clerical policy led by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in Prussia. State laws banned teaching religious orders and forced the sisters to close their establishments in Germany. Faced with this persecution, Clara Fey showed great strength of spirit. In 1878, she was forced to transfer the motherhouse and a large part of the community to Simpelveld, in the Netherlands, where she founded the Loreto convent. Despite the exile and fragile health, she continued to guide her congregation, which spread to other European countries (Belgium, France, England). Clara Fey passed away peacefully in Simpelveld on May 8, 1894, at the age of 79.

The reputation of holiness of Clara Fey, already alive during her lifetime, spread rapidly after her death. The informative process for her beatification opened in 1916 in the diocese of Roermond (on which Simpelveld depends) and closed in 1924. On August 11, 1958, Pope Pius XII signed the decree for the formal introduction of her cause in Rome, conferring upon her the title of Servant of God. On April 2, 1993, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, declaring her Venerable.

The path to beatification reached its decisive stage on May 4, 2017, when Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing a miracle of unexplained healing attributed to the intercession of Clara Fey.

The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on May 5, 2018, in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Aachen, the founder's hometown. The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. During the Regina Coeli on May 6, 2018, Pope Francis hailed the new Blessed, describing her as a "zealous witness of the Gospel" and an "attentive educator of youth in difficulty."

In 2012, in anticipation of the beatification and following the relocation of the generalate, the mortal remains of Clara Fey were transferred from Simpelveld to the chapel of the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus in Aachen. Her liturgical memorial is set for May 8, the day of her birth into Heaven.

Clara Fey's spirituality is deeply Eucharistic, Christocentric, and Marian. It is summarized by the motto of her congregation: "Manete in me" ("Abide in me", John 15:4). For Clara Fey, charitable and educational action can only bear fruit if it takes its source in an intimate and constant union with Christ. She liked to repeat to her sisters: "I need to remain attached to Jesus like the branch to the vine, otherwise my faith will wither."

Her particular devotion to the "Poor Child Jesus" invited her to contemplate Christ in his stripping and humility, and to recognize him in the person of the poorest and most abandoned children. She considered education not only as a work of instruction, but as a means of leading souls to God by surrounding them with maternal and attentive love.

Today, the legacy of Blessed Clara Fey is perpetuated through the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus, who continue their mission of education, pastoral care, and social aid for disadvantaged children and youth in many countries around the world (Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa).