Maria Euthymia Üffing

Upon receiving the habit, she was given the name Sister Maria Euthymia, in honor of the superior of Hopsten whom she admired so much. She took her temporary vows on October 11, 1936. Shortly after, she was assigned to St. Vincent Hospital in Dinslaken, where she first worked as a nursing assistant in the St. Barbara isolation ward, intended for contagious diseases. On September 3, 1939, she obtained her nursing diploma with distinction, and took her perpetual vows on September 15, 1940. During the Second World War, starting in 1943, Sister Maria Euthymia was entrusted with the care and nursing of sick prisoners of war and foreign forced laborers (notably British, French, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian). In a context of war and suspicion, she treated these patients with immense charity and respect, without distinction of nationality. Her tireless dedication and kindness earned her the nickname the "Angel of Love" or the "Angel of the St. Barbara Barracks." The French priest Émile Eche, himself a prisoner of war in Dinslaken, would testify to the extraordinary solicitude of the nun, emphasizing that her dedication came from the depths of her heart. After the end of hostilities, in 1945, she was appointed head of the laundry at the Dinslaken hospital. In January 1948, she was recalled to Münster to take charge of the laundry at the motherhouse and the St. Raphael Clinic (Raphaelsklinik). Although this physical work was particularly heavy, monotonous, and kept her away from direct contact with the sick, she accepted it with perfect obedience. She performed her daily tasks with a constant smile and a spirit of continuous prayer, not hesitating to devote her rare moments of rest to voluntarily watching over dying patients.

On July 8, 1955, Sister Maria Euthymia collapsed while working in the laundry. Medical examinations revealed advanced and incurable intestinal cancer. Faced with the illness and the intense suffering that followed, she demonstrated heroic patience and total abandonment to the will of God. She received the Sacrament of the Sick and passed away peacefully on the morning of September 9, 1955, in Münster, at the age of 41. Upon the announcement of her death, a crowd of faithful, the sick, and fellow sisters gathered to pay her a final tribute, already considering her a saint. Her grave at the central cemetery of Münster quickly became a frequently visited place of pilgrimage and prayer. Given the popular fervor and the numerous testimonies of graces obtained through her intercession, the Diocese of Münster initiated the steps for her cause of beatification. On January 9, 1976, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the nihil obstat, officially opening the diocesan process. The diocesan inquiry was validated by the Vatican on December 14, 1981. After a thorough examination of her virtues and the drafting of the Positio, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues on September 1, 1988, conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The official miracle accepted for her beatification occurred the day after her death, on September 10, 1955. A religious sister of her own congregation had severely burned and crushed her hand during a work accident involving a calender (an industrial ironing machine) in the laundry. By praying with faith before the open coffin of Sister Maria Euthymia and soliciting her intercession, the religious sister witnessed the complete, instantaneous, and medically inexplicable healing of her hand. This case of healing was the subject of a rigorous medical and theological investigation. The miracle was validated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on July 10, 1992, then approved by the medical board on March 4, 1999, and by the theologians on October 22, 1999. Pope John Paul II signed the official decree recognizing the miracle on July 1, 2000. Sister Maria Euthymia Üffing was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 7, 2001, in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Her liturgical feast was set for September 9, the anniversary of her birth into Heaven.

The spirituality of Blessed Maria Euthymia is characterized by humility, charity without borders, and the silent offering of self. She lived the Gospel in her daily life through simple gestures imbued with extraordinary love. For her, every sick person and every needy person, including enemy prisoners of war, represented Christ himself. Her spiritual attitude consisted of joyfully accepting the most humble and hidden tasks, such as the grueling work in the laundry, seeing it as an opportunity to unite herself with the Passion of Christ and to serve her brothers and sisters. She spent all her free time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, drawing from it the strength for her charity. Today, her legacy remains alive. The Euthymia Center (Euthymia-Zentrum), located within the motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Münster, is a place of memory and prayer that welcomes many pilgrims. Her tomb, sheltered under an open chapel at the central cemetery of Münster, remains decorated with flowers daily by the faithful who continue to seek her intercession to obtain help and comfort.