Sister Anna Bernhart is 100 years old. That she got so old is for them Oberzell Franciscan nothing special. “God wanted it that way,” she says. The nun lives in the Antoniushaus, the old people’s and nursing home of the “Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus”. It is located in Zell am Main, on the outskirts of Würzburg. Sister Anna doesn’t like the hustle and bustle around her that much, explains an employee of the Oberzell monastery. That is why the nun prefers to answer our questions in writing. She likes to talk about her life.
“You always miss a parent, no matter how old you are”
Anna Rosa Bernhart was born in 1922 in Werlsberg in the Sudetenland, i.e. in the former border area between what was then Czechoslovakia and Germany. The fact that her birthday is on Christmas Eve is a special gift from the Lord, she says Lady of the Order, who grew up with three brothers. “As the youngest child of my parents, I was accepted and loved,” she looks back. She lost her father early when she was two years old. “You always miss a parent, no matter how old you are,” says the 100-year-old. Her eldest brother then took over the role of father. “My mother was always there for us and didn’t let us feel her own pain,” recalls the Franciscan.
Bild: ©Daniel Peter
The Antoniushaus is the old people’s and nursing home of the Oberzeller Franciscan nuns. Sister Anna has lived on the monastery grounds for over 50 years.
With her three siblings, the young Anna Rosa helps out on the family farm, the work is physically difficult. “Despite the not always easy life, I had my faith,” the nun looks back. “If you trust in God, everything else will take care of itself,” she says. Towards the end of the war the family is expelled. Anna Rosa Bernhart ends up with her mother and three brothers on a farm in Wiesenhagen near Berlin. This resettlement, as she calls it, leaves deep wounds in her life. “We had to leave everything behind, our house, the animals and all the souvenirs we loved,” said the nun. “It was awful”. Nevertheless, she looks reconciled at this time. Because this fate struck many other families at the time. “That was a small consolation,” she says in retrospect.
“I thought at my age I wouldn’t have a chance to become a nun”
In 1951 her brother brought her to Rothenfels in the Main-Spessart district. Among other things, Anna Rosa works in a wood works in Hafenlohr, as a station help and as a seamstress. She also takes care of her mother up to hers Tod. “I was there for my mother, just like she was there for me,” she explains. That praying the rosary learned from her. Sister Anna still prays the prayer several times a day. “The Mother of God always gave me strength,” she says, adding: “She always helps.”
Bild: ©Daniel Peter
Sister Anna Bernhart prays the rosary several times a day, usually together with her fellow sisters in the chapel of the Antoniushaus. “Maria always helps,” the nun is certain.
In 1967, the then 44-year-old began training as a geriatric nurse in Würzburg and got to know the Oberzeller Franciscan nuns. “I’ve always wanted to go to a monastery. But I thought at my age I wouldn’t have a chance of becoming a nun,” reveals the 100-year-old. But the General Superior of the Congregation agrees and Anna Rosa Bernhart becomes Sister Anna. “I could keep my first name“, the nun rejoices.
By entering the monastery, she found a new home. “I have not regretted this step for a single day,” said the Franciscan. As a geriatric nurse, she later works in the order’s own old people’s and nursing home and even takes on management tasks. She takes care of her fellow sisters until she is 95. At the moment there are around 100 nuns who belong to the Oberzeller Franciscans. This also includes two branches in South Africa and the USA. Today, Sister Anna herself lives in this care facility, where she used to help. Every day she still goes independently to the in-house chapel of the Antoniushaus to pray together with her fellow sisters and church services to celebrate. “That way I’m even closer to God,” she laughs.
She imagines the sky glowing. “All worries are then forgotten”. She is not afraid of death. “I look forward to dyingbut I guess my time hasn’t come yet,” says the 100-year-old. “No one in my family got as old as I did,” she says. She’s looking forward to see everyone in heaven. For the lifetime that God has given her, the 100-year-old nun wishes that she does not have to be a burden to anyone, that she remains independent and that she continues to have people around her who mean well and honestly with her.
By Madeleine Spendier
