Sisters of Christian Charity

Six children from Ukraine are playing in the courtyard of the Maria Immaculata House in Paderborn. "Be careful," calls Sister Ines and runs quickly to little 14-month-old Julia, who is about to climb onto a metal bicycle stand. Just in time, before she possibly hurts herself. "I'm their grandma," says nurse Ines, laughing happily. "Especially the little one always runs up to me because she knows she's going to get something sweet."
Since mid-March, 15 Ukrainian refugees have been living in the convent of the Sisters of Christian Charity - next door in the motherhouse live 42 mostly elderly "Mallinckrodt Sisters", as they are also called, as well as guests of the integrated education house. "We have cleared a whole floor especially for them".
Shortly after the beginning of the war, requests for help reached the monasteries in Paderborn, sometimes by tortuous routes. Anna Philipp (68), who moved to Paderborn from Kyrgyzstan 45 years ago, sought support and help from the Diocesan Caritas Association of Paderborn at the request of her daughter Irina, who had emigrated to the USA, and was referred to Sr. Ines. The daughter, who lives in Texas, had adopted two Ukrainian teenagers seven years ago from a family of seven children living in precarious conditions.
When the bombs fell, the older sister Ludmilla and her three children, full of fear, asked the American siblings for help. "My daughter, as an adoptive mother, then bought bus tickets from Kiev to Germany," Anna Philipp reports. "She then called me and asked, 'Mom, can you take care?'" Anna Philip, who speaks Russian, unlike her daughter who grew up in Germany, contacted Ludmilla, who was stranded in Berlin. "She was completely upset, so I prayed, and sure enough, God sent an angel who helped her buy tickets and find the right train."
Surprisingly, Ludmilla brought her daughter's 14-year-old friend in addition to her three children. "And then my daughter Irina called and got in touch with yet another woman who had helped her so much with the adoption, and who was now standing crying alone somewhere and hadn't gotten anywhere for a week." Irina got Inna, who had fled Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, a plane ticket from Warsaw to Düsseldorf, where Anna Philipp picked her up. A few days later, the 14-year-old's mother and Inna's sister arrived with two children. "We sat in the basement for several days without light or electricity," Inna reports. "When we were bombed and the windows blew out, we decided to flee." The parents, however, wanted to stay. Now the daughters are worried. Since the occupation by Russian troops, they can no longer reach their parents.

In stark contrast to the horror of war is the idyllic location of the monastery in the middle of a small park. "The children love to play outside, and the adults visibly enjoy life at the convent. Our sisters are very happy when they meet the guests." True, they don't speak a common language. "Communication still works out," smiles Sr. Ines. By the way, the accommodation of the refugees is also supported by the American Sisters of Christian Charity. Ukrainian refugees have also moved into the motherhouse of the Vincentian Sisters just a few hundred meters away. As many as 49 mothers and children live in the vacant sisters' rooms. "We asked ourselves what we could do," says Superior General Sr. Katharina. "It quickly became clear that we wanted to take in people at our convent." And the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in the suburb of Neuenbeken accommodated a family of eight and two couples in the guest wing. "All very friendly people," enthuses the superior, Sr. Gisela.
However, the contacts with the authorities proved to be more difficult than expected. "I had imagined it would be easier," says Sr. Anna Philipp is downright frustrated. "I spend hours every day traveling with my protégés - to offices, schools, doctors," she says. But many doors at the authorities are still closed, she says, even though life is back to normal everywhere else. Often, only an answering machine can be reached by phone.
Despite everything: Things are progressing. "The children already speak German amazingly well," thanks to school and German lessons, as well as the tutoring provided by the sisters in the afternoon. The adult women attend a German course at the VHS and also receive additional tutoring from the sisters.
Ludmilla, one of the two women who fled, is afraid for two of her brothers: they are involved in the fighting as Ukrainian soldiers.

Markas Jonas