Bad Driburg, Germany
Nestled among gigantic fir trees and other lush foliage in its spacious garden, Holy Trinity Convent in the health resort of Bad Driburg stands at the foot of a mini-mountain topped by the ruins of an ancient castle called the Iburg. In 1920 Mother Mary Michael earnestly began to investigate the possibility of founding an adoration chapel and convent in Germany. With God’s blessing, her plan gradually and steadily unfolded year by year: 1921, permission to found in the Diocese of Paderborn; 1922, a grant of suitable land by the Divine Word Fathers, drawing up of breaking; September 27, 1924, dedication of the finished building and beginning of perpetual adoration.
Also here in this seemingly out-of-the-way place, the unrest, insecurity and even terror of World War II was felt. Day and night the Sisters could repeatedly hear the sirens, squadrons of war planes overhead and cannons in the distance. During 1945 they had to repose the Blessed Sacrament for six weeks as a safety measure and spent a good part of their time living in the convent basement. But they never had to interrupt the perpetual adoration. People from the surrounding areas, especially the elderly, occupied the upper floors. On April 5, 1945, when American troops took over the city, peace was restored and life could begin to return to normal. In thanksgiving to God for their safety in this difficult time, the Sisters carried out a promised program of extra prayer and penance. Gradually life returned to normal, and the Sisters could resume their daily work in house, garden and host bakery.
In 1965 the existing chapel was in a state of disrepair and had to be razed. A new adoration chapel with a wall-length mosaic of the Trinity in the sanctuary was erected. At the same time, the convent was renovated in keeping with building-code requirements. In September 1973 construction of a new wing to house the general administration, which was to be moved from the Motherhouse in Steyl, Holland to Bad Driburg, was begun. In August 1974 the generalate could move in.
At the repeated urging of a laywoman, Archbishop Johannes Joachim Degenhardt of Paderborn initiated the founding of a League of Eucharistic Adorers on March 1, 1979. Since then, it has steadily grown in membership and is a vital extension of the Sisters’ apostolate of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
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