Bernarda Heimgartner (born Maria Anna Heimgartner, 26 November 1822 – 13 December 1863) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

professed religious and the co-founder of the Sisters of the Holy Cross of Menzingen. Heimgartner founded this order alongside

Theodosius Florentini Theodosius Florentini (23 May 1808 at Münster, in the Grisons, Switzerland – 15 February 1865 at Heiden, in Appenzell) was a Swiss Capuchin friar, a founder of Catholic religious orders and institutions. Life Theodosius Florentini was ...

in 1844 and served as its leader until three months before her death. She had become a professed religious of the Sisters of Divine Providence in 1843 and made her vows in 1844 before establishing her congregation. Heimgartner's cause for sainthood commenced in 1952 under

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

after being titled as a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

confirmed she had lived a life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

and named her as

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

on 26 March 1994.

Life

Maria Anna Heimgartner was born on 26 November 1822 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

as the fourth of six children of Heimrich Josef Heimgartner (1788–1836) and Anna Maria Trüb. Her father died in 1836 when she was fourteen and this forced her to assume greater home duties. Her maternal uncle – Karl – served as a church pastor. Her initial education spanned from 1829 until 1837 in

Fislisbach Fislisbach is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Fislisbach is first mentioned in 1184 as ''Vicelisbach''. Geography , Fislisbach has an area of . Of this area, 47.5% is used for agricult ...

and then served as a nurse for children in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

from 1838 until 1840. In 1840 – on the advice of her priest and confessor

– she received training as a teacher from Capuchin nuns. She studied from 1841 until 1844 with the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

in the German city of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

in the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

region. She entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Sisters of Divine Providence in 1843. Heimgartner made her religious profession on 16 October 1844 in Altdorf in the name of "Bernarda" while relocating on 17 October 1844 to

Menzingen Menzingen is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. History Menzingen is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Meincingin''. The traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X, which is said to have broken with the Vatican over "doctrinal ...

. Heimgartner and Florentini – with three others – established their congregation in October 1844 but conflicts with Florentini from 1854 to 1856 saw the separation of the two orders he co-founded: one in

Ingenbohl Ingenbohl (High Alemannic: ''Ingäbohl'') is a municipality in Schwyz District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. History Ingenbohl is first mentioned in 1387 as ''uff Ingenbol''. Geography Ingenbohl has an area, , of . Of this area, 31% i ...

and then her own. Her time as the head of the order witnessed the establishment of a total of 59 homes and schools. Heimgartner would often mention that "our fountain of life is

Divine Providence In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term ''Divine Providence'' (usually capitalized) is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which ...

". In 1859 she was diagnosed with

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

. She relinquished her post as Mother Superior on 21 September 1863 to Sister Salesia Strickler. Heimgartner died due tuberculosis on 13 December 1863. Her order was later aggregated to that of the

Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many ma ...

. As of 2005 there was 2132 religious in 244 houses while there were 138 German religious in 2013.

Beatification process

The beatification process commenced in two cities:

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

. It started under

in 1952 in an informative process that closed in 1955 – the 1952 opening saw the conferral of the title of

upon her. Historians met to approve the cause in 1991 while the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

validated the diocesan process on 18 June 1993. Theologians and the C.C.S. both voted in favor of the cause in 1993 and 1994. Heimgartner was accorded the title of

on 26 March 1994 after

recognized that she had lived a life of

. The miracle required for beatification was investigated in the place that it had occurred in and received C.C.S. validation in 2006.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNSisters of the Holy Cross of Menzingen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heimgartner, Bernarda 1822 births 1863 deaths People from Baden District, Aargau Swiss Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Swiss people 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Founders of Catholic religious communities Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II Tuberculosis deaths in Switzerland