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This week’s mission hero is Hendrina “Josefa” Stenmanns.
Hendrina was born on May 28, 1852 in Issum, Kleve, German Confederation, the eldest of seven children.
Hendrina’s mother, Anna Maria, was very active in serving the sick and the poor in the community, and frequently she took her daughter with her. Hendrina grasped, from an early age, what it was like to serve the physical and spiritual needs of people in need.
When she was able to do so, Hendrina helped support the family by working as a silk weaver.
Hendrina was attracted to the poor of the world, and in 1871, she became a professed member of the Third Order of Saint Francis. She wanted to become a cloistered nun, but because the government at the time had anti-religious laws in place, that avenue was closed to Hendrina. Further, as Anna Maria lay dying, Hendrina promised her mother that she would look after her father and siblings.
In February, 1884, Hendrina was finally able to leave home and relocate to the Netherlands. There, she met Fr. Arnold Janssen who was establishing a house to train priests to become missionaries. Hendrina believed in Fr. Arnold’s work, so she volunteered to serve as a kitchen maid in the mission house.
On December 8, 1889, however, Hendrina, along with Fr. Arnold and Helena Stollenwerk, founded a new religious community of sisters called the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit. In March of 1894, Hendrina professed her first vows and took the name Josefa.
On September 11, 1895, Hendrina traveled to Argentina with other members of her congregation to oversee the establishment of the congregation in that country. In 1898, Sr. Hendrina became the second superior of the order after Sr. Helena Stollenwerk. Sr. Hendrina “Josefa” made her perpetual vows on December 8, 1901.
Sister Hendrina “Josefa” died in the Netherlands in 1902 from lung disease. Sr. Hendrina Stenmanns was beatified on June 29, 2008. Blessed Hendrina’s feast day is May 20.
