Mother Clara Pfaender

Clara Pfaender (December 6, 1827 – October 5, 1882) was the foundress of the Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Clara Pfaender was an educator by profession. Initially she was engaged in the instruction of elementary youth, of orphans and of youngsters who were blind. So, too, education was the primary ministry of those women who first joined her.

It was during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 that nursing became a ministry of the congregation. Clara and 15 of her Sisters journeyed to the battlefields of Bohemia to care for the soldiers who were wounded there. The remaining Sisters continued their work in schools and orphanages.

The Franco-German War of 1870-1871 further necessitated the need for Sisters to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers at the front and in hospitals of their native countries. Clara and 72 Sisters served in this capacity. Further, they nursed during the typhoid and cholera epidemics that were rife after both wars. Again, the Franciscans helped to minister with tender compassion and selfless energies. It is worth noting that after these wars, the Sisters received letters and honored decorations in recognition of their service.

Shortly after the founding of the Congregation, the Kulturkampf (1871-1890) arose in Germany. This was a struggle between the German government and the Catholic Church over the control of education and the appointment of German bishops. The government prevailed and many restrictions were placed on the Church. Ultimately, religious congregations were restricted from teaching altogether, and were prohibited from accepting new members. Clara and her Sisters were forced to discontinue their teaching activities but were given permission from the government to continue serving as a nursing order.

As the oppressive laws of the Kulturkampf made it impossible for the Sisters to grow in membership and to flourish in their work, Clara sent Sisters to other countries so that their ministry could continue. Some went to France, to Holland and in 1872, three Sisters were sent to the United States. In Germany, she entrusted good lay people with the care of the orphanages, and the safekeeping of those teaching responsibilities that were now outlawed for the religious congregation. Certainly the Franciscans’ present notion of lay partnership is an outgrowth of this early collaboration. The Sisters have a rich tradition of respect for the lay women and men that have joined them in fostering the special vision of service first begun by Clara Pfaender.

Because of the anti-clerical Kulturkampf laws, the Bishop, who was forced to flee for his life, gave Clara certain powers. These powers, normally reserved for the clergy, included choosing confessors for the congregation, accepting novices into the congregation and accepting the vows of newly professed Sisters. Since she was instructed to tell no one about the granting of these powers by the Bishop, great misunderstanding and tensions arose.

Clara was far ahead of her time in some of the actions she took. For the good of the congregation, she would consult and deal with highly placed officials and lay people to achieve the desired results. These actions, of course, also made it possible to avoid bringing the clergy into conflict with governmental laws and restrictions of the Kulturkampf. Often she was misunderstood, because such actions from a woman were not customary at that time, especially from a religious woman. Eventually her efforts to save the congregation and its works resulted in such discord and opposition that she was forced to resign her position as superior general. She went to Rome to try and resolve the misunderstandings and accusations concerning her conduct of the affairs of the congregation. Her attempts failed and she died, in poverty and in exile, on October 5, 1882.