Mother M. Anselma Bopp: Servant of the Work of God
Together with Father Gerhard Dall, Mother M. Anselma Bopp founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.
The external circumstances surrounding the birth of the new congregation tested and refined Mother M. Anselma’s capacity to discern the will of God manifested in her concrete surroundings. While not every need that arises becomes one’s mission, one that is understood to be assigned by divine providence never remains a mere option.
It was given to her to recognize this difference at the crucial hour. Within the chaos and uncertainly of her own time, Mother M. Anselma recognized that God was raising up something new. Animated by this inner conviction, she entrusted herself wholly to a work whose future she could not predict. This abandonment to divine providence in the spirit of prompt and uncalculating surrender characterizes our foundress.
In this way, the love of poverty, joy in work, and faithfulness to prayer that defined Mother M. Anselma and remain so central to our life and spirituality, transcend mere practices. Rather, they express our inner attitude as a congregation: vigilant sensitivity to the will of God, tireless and joyful service, complete dependence on God both to show what is necessary in our service and to render it fruitful.
