Hospital Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis

Sister M. Carponia Langwald

✝ Monday, April 17th 2023


Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore. (John 21:4)

Early in the morning after the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Risen Lord called to himself our dear Sister M. Carponia Langwald, Hospital Sister of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis.

Born: November 23, 1931

Entrance: August 3, 1951

Profession: May 3, 1954

Died: April 17, 2023

Maria Langwald was born in Regerteln in Ermland in the region of East Prussia and went to school there. The family was torn apart by the turmoil of war. Maria had to flee by ship across the Baltic Sea and the Northern Sea and presumably arrived in Emden. The other members of the family went to the South of Germany. The young woman earned her money in the kitchen of the Borromäus Hospital in Leer/ East Friesland, where she met the Mauritzer Franciscan Sisters. In 1951 she entered our congregation in Münster and became Sister M. Carponia. She worked as a nurse in the internal medicine department of St. Willehad Hospital in Wilhelmshaven and St. Bernhard Hospital in Brake before coming to St. Francis House in Nordwalde in 1989.  As a ward manager, she looked after the sisters in need of care.  At Ludwig-Windhorst-Haus in Lingen, she completed a one-year training program to become a caregiver for dementia patients. Her final thesis was so good that it was submitted for publication.

We are especially grateful to Sister M. Carponia for her many years of faithful service to the elderly sisters. In recent years, she has had to accept this service herself. The resurrected God redeemed her now from the infirmities of old age. 

We gratefully bid farewell to Sister M. Carponia. We remain united with her in prayer and in the celebration of the Eucharist.

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at 10.00 a.m., in St. Francis House in Nordwalde, we will celebrate the Mass of Resurrection for Sister M. Carponia and then say goodbye to her at the parish cemetery where she will be laid to her final resting place.   Afterwards, we can share our memories over coffee at St. Francis House.