The writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, famously said that the greatest bequest of parents to their children were roots and wings, in other words, both the foundational and irreplaceable belonging to a family as well as the ability to venture into the world. We experienced this two-fold reality in all its concreteness in a recent visit from a group from our Fuji School in Sapporo, Japan.
The Fuji Middle and High School was founded in 1925 by the first Sisters from our congregation who were sent to Japan in 1920 in response to a need for the education of girls and young women. Since its founding more than one hundred years ago, this institution has contributed to the formation of countless women for both family and professional life, with an emphasis on graceful and elegant femininity. As an extension of the school’s centenary celebration last year, we were privileged to welcome a group of 19 students, fifteen to seventeen years of age, accompanied by two teachers, Mr. Neil McGinty and Mrs. Takako Yamashiro, to Thuine on March 18, 2026.
Our visitors wasted no time in immersing themselves in the history of the congregation. Already on the afternoon of their arrival, they were able to visit the graves of Mother M. Anselma, our foundress, as well as Mother M. Beda, the superior general who sent the first Sisters to Japan. Once in the Motherhouse, we stopped into our Christ the King Church, two chapels, and history room and mission museum. The St. George Chapel, having served as the main chapel from 1881 to 1929, was of particular interest to our visitors, being the place where the first Sisters to Japan would have had their mission sending.
The next two days were a whirlwind of activity. On March 19, the school group from Sapporo spent a very special morning with the students of our vocational school. The faculty, staff and students, under the direction of the school principal, Mrs. Nadine Mosler, had prepared a special program including presentations and workshops in various subject areas, and concluding with a meditation and lunch.
To learn more about this unforgettable event please go to:
"Lebendiges Zeichen weltweiter Gemeinschaft", Beitrag im "Kirchenboten" am 25.03.2026
On the next day, we ventured out of Thuine! The city of Osnabrück was our first stop, and the highlight of this visit was undoubtedly the time spent at St. Peter’s Cathedral. Taking in the beauty and sacredness of this church, from the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and main crucifix to the baptismal font and graves of the former bishops of the diocese, our visitors could not but help sense the faith and tradition that served as the impetus for our first Sisters. From this place of faith the group proceeded to the “room of peace” located in City Hall, where one of the peace treaties that ended the Thirty Years’ war was signed in1684.
From these two experiences of the broader history of both Church and state in Lower Saxony, the school group proceeded to an experience of the particular with a visit to the Rehme family! After enjoying a wonderful lunch at the Francis of Assisi School in Osnabrück and the opportunity to shop for souvenirs, the students with their teachers traveled to Ostercappeln to pay a visit to the great nephew of Sister M. Xavera Rehme who, with his family, welcomed us into his home.
For the next hour, we enjoyed the hospitality of this wonderful family. In between filling our cups with coffee and tea, refilling the plates of cookies, they brought out their photographs and regaled us with stories. After taking a group picture with the family, Mr. and Mrs. Rehme accompanied us to the Church of St. Lambertus, where Sister M. Xavera was baptized, and where the family still attends church. In this way, our visitors ended their time in Germany with a “personal encounter” with the Sister who was one of the first to be missioned to Japan and who served as the first principal of our Fuji School. Thus, the 36-hour trip from Sapporo to northern Germany ended with a discovery of something (or in this case, someone) familiar!
When Goethe spoke of roots and wings, he was wiser than he knew, for they are actually two expressions of the same reality – the mystery of belonging. Only those who belong to a certain time, place, and community are free to live this gift somewhere else. One of the students from Sapporo testified to this experience with elegant simplicity. When asked what she most treasured from her visit to the vocational school, she did not speak of the program or projects. She replied instead, “I found new friends.”