Mother Margareta Pucher: Foundress

Mother Margareta Pucher was born on March 6, 1818 in Kapela at the Slovenian-Austrian border. She spoke both Slovenian and German since as a child she often stayed with her uncle who was a brewer in Germany. Little more is known about her childhood.

On July 1, 1844, at the age of 26, she went to the Convent of the School Sisters of Eggenberg in Graz, Austria. On August 22 of that year, she entered the Novitiate where she received a thorough religious training. She professed her first vows the following year and continued to live her calling faithfully as a member of the community and as a dedicated teacher.

When in October of 1864, the School Sisters were called to Maribor, Sr. Margareta was one of the four Sisters who went. There she served as the local superior and as an instructor for the young girls. God moved her heart, and she felt compelled to dedicate herself to serving God through the care and education of Maribor’s street children and Christian youth.

After discussion with the community in Graz, it was decided that the community from Graz could not fulfill what was needed in Maribor, and a new Congregation was needed. Sr. Margareta approached the Bishop, and on September 13, 1869, Sr. Margareta was appointed by the Bishop to serve as the Superior and a new Congregation was born. She served both as Superior and Novice Directress, and she strongly influenced the growing community “uniting the good with the strict as she sought to put into practice the various requirements of religious observance.”

An expert in stitchery and in the sewing of sacred vestments, Mother Margareta passed on to the members of her Congregation this knowledge and her love of this activity.

Faithful to Franciscan ideals and deeply steeped in prayer, Mother Margareta led her Sisters until age and health prevented her from this role. In her later years, Mother Margareta patiently bore the suffering of a long illness and peacefully passed away on her 83 rd birthday, March 6, 1901.

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