Co-founder Mother Mary of the Apostles is beatified

“The life and vocation of Blessed Mother Mary of the Apostles is marked by two qualities: the apostolate and missionary service. These are wonderfully blended in her person.”

Pope Paul VI offered this reflection on Mother Mary of the Apostles, SDS during her beatification at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. More than 600 Salvatorian Sisters came from around the world to witness her beatification ceremony.

Mother Mary of the Apostles was born Therese von Wüllenweber in Myllendonk Castle, near Gladbach in the Rhineland of western Germany in 1833. She entered Religious of the Sacred Heart convent at 24, while still questioning if a semi-cloistered religious vocation was right for her. She soon left and continued discerning her call to serve. Through many years, she maintained a belief that God would guide her to her destined work. In 1882, Providence led her to Father Francis Jordan.

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Of Fr. Jordan, she wrote, “He gave me the impression of a humble, truly zealous apostle.” Together, they co-founded the Sisters of the Divine Savior on December 8, 1888 in Tivoli, Italy. The two worked to expand and strengthen the sisterhood. Finding her true calling, Mother Mary guided the Salvatorian Sisters until her death on Christmas Day in 1907.

Mother Mary’s beatification process began in 1943. Work at the diocesan level in Milwaukee included 40 interviews with sisters who knew her. In 1965, Pope Paul VI confirmed two miracles attributed to Mother Mary. The first occurred at Salvator Mundi Hospital in Rome, where Mother Mary appeared to a man in a dream. She told him he would not die from blood clots in his lungs. Early the next morning, the clots were gone.

Years later at St. Mary’s Nursing Home in Milwaukee, Wis., a woman suffering from a fatal skin disease prayed to Mother Mary at the urging of a Salvatorian Sister who also prayed. After the woman soaked her arms in water, nurses returned to find no signs of disease on her arms or in the water. Paintings of Mother Mary’s miracles and works were displayed around St. Peter’s and atop Bernini’s Altar of the Chair on the day of her beatification.

Sister Margaret Bosch, SDS is the last living sister of the North American Province who witnessed Mother Mary’s beatification.  She recalls arriving at St. Peter’s, and says, “It was a special joy to see the huge oil painting of (soon to be Blessed) Mary of the Apostles in heavenly glory.” Reflecting upon Blessed Mary’s life, Sr. Margaret says, “God has blessed our Province and our Congregation with good leaders who have brought us this far.”

Today, Sisters of the Divine Savior continue to commemorate the life and beatification of Blessed Mary of the Apostles. There is little doubt that without her, the female branch of Fr. Francis Jordan’s vision for the Salvatorian Family would not have become a reality. In 2018, we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of her beatification by recommitting ourselves to her mission. Together, we continue to pray for the same “strength and inspiration” Therese von Wüllenweber sought—and found—more than 135 years ago.