Ulrika Nisch

In October 1904, Franziska was admitted as a postulant to the Hegne convent, located on the shores of Lake Constance, which houses the congregation's provincial house in Germany. During her clothing ceremony in April 1906, she received the religious habit and the name Sister Ulrika. She pronounced her first vows on April 24, 1907. Sister Ulrika was assigned to the humblest tasks of the community, primarily as an assistant cook. She worked first in the kitchens of the hospital in Bühl (Mittelbaden), then was sent to the Saint Vincent house in Baden-Baden, where she worked for four years, until August 1912. Despite the hardness of the manual labor and the sometimes harsh attitude of her direct superior, she performed her tasks with unalterable patience, constant joy, and great gentleness toward the young girls who were learning to cook by her side. In the spring of 1912, Sister Ulrika began to suffer from serious health problems and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. As her condition declined rapidly, she was forced to leave Baden-Baden in July 1912 to return to Hegne, where she was admitted to Saint Elizabeth Hospital. She spent her final months there in continuous prayer and total acceptance of suffering. She passed away on the evening of May 8, 1913, at the age of 30.

From the moment of her death, Sister Ulrika's reputation for holiness spread widely among the faithful, who affectionately called her the "Saint of Gnadensee" (named after the part of Lake Constance bordering Hegne). Her tomb, located in the crypt of the Hegne convent, became a frequently visited place of pilgrimage. Between June 1951 and February 1953, a register placed near her burial site collected more than 20,000 signatures from visitors who came to seek her intercession. Faced with this popular fervor, the beatification process was officially opened at the diocesan level in Freiburg im Breisgau on November 24, 1952, and concluded on August 10, 1953. The cause was formally introduced to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican on July 31, 1981, granting her the status of Servant of God. On December 14, 1984, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thereby declaring her Venerable. For her beatification, a miracle was required. The diocesan investigation into an inexplicable healing attributed to her intercession took place from December 17, 1979, to June 4, 1981, and received validation from Rome on November 18, 1983. It concerned the scientifically inexplicable healing of a woman suffering from an incurable liver condition. This miracle was officially approved by papal decree on January 3, 1987.

Sister Ulrika Nisch was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 1, 1987, the day of the Solemnity of All Saints, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. She was raised to the altars at the same time as Brother Arnould Rèche and Sister Blandina Merten. Her liturgical feast is set for May 8, the anniversary of her birth into Heaven. Her relics rest today in the crypt of the convent church of Hegne in Allensbach, Germany, where thousands of pilgrims continue to come to pray each year.

The spirituality of Blessed Ulrika Nisch rests upon a deep mystical union lived in the heart of the simplest daily realities. She knew how to transform the ordinary work of the kitchen into an act of love and continuous contemplation. Her life perfectly illustrates the double commandment of love of God and neighbor. Her most famous maxim summarizes her spiritual path: "Love knows no measure, and we want in Love and only for Love to suffer everything and do everything." She also liked to repeat: "The purer the intention, the freer one is from self-love." Her confidante, Sister Bonaventure, testified to the depth of her interior life, marked by exceptional mystical graces that she strove to hide out of humility. Her legacy continues today through the work of the Sisters of Charity of the Holy Cross. Furthermore, the Ulrika Nisch Foundation (Stiftung Ulrika Nisch), created in Mittelbiberach, manages the "Ulrika Nisch House" (Ulrika-Nisch-Haus) established in her birthplace. This structure offers refuge, housing, and support to pregnant women and mothers in distress, thus concretely extending the charism of charity and hospitality of the Blessed.