Status: 26/09/2023, 14:43 p.m.
By: Andreas Daschner
CommentsShare
With certificate (from left): Vice-Mayor Margit Pesch, Chairman of the Parish Council Heinz-Josef Schmitz, Third Mayor Stefan Heitler, Sister Irmengard and Head of the Town Hall Robert Bals. © Peter Weber
She was a part of the lives of entire generations of Adelshofen residents: Sister Irmengard worked in the convent of the School Sisters of the Poor for more than 40 years before it was dissolved in 2014. She has now been made an honorary citizen for her work.
Adelshofen – It was almost as if a pop star had come to Adelshofen: The hall had to be reseated because the community had only expected 150 instead of the 180 people who were ultimately there. One of the guests had his picture taken with Sister Irmengard, and a child presented her with a picture he had painted himself. And, of course, there were plenty of conversations with the nun.
Sister Irmengard, whose full name is Maria Irmengard Aigner, was almost a little uncomfortable with all the hustle and bustle around her. "I'm not a woman of big words," said the 79-year-old. Adelshofen was the place where she lived for a long time, felt comfortable and simply belonged. "I really enjoyed being here." She enjoyed going to school to teach the children and really liked her altar boys. "And that's enough." Sister Irmengard didn't want to say more. No big words.
It goes without saying that she didn't want too much adulation when she was awarded honorary citizenship. However, Mayor Robert Bals and Parish Council Chairman Heinz-Josef Schmitz could not quite do her this favor. "A few nice sentences are already there," said the head of the town hall before his speech.
Sister Irmengard and Sister Irmhild came from Regensburg, where she lives today. The fact that she was made an honorary citizen on the day of the patronage of St. Michael's Church fits, according to Mayor Bals. "She was the good spirit of the local Church – a place she always cared about."
The head of the town hall also recalled the time when, after the dissolution of the monastery, the associated area was put up for sale – and which was finally bought by the municipality. "She played a pragmatic and positive role in the sales negotiations," says Bals. The fact that a children's home has now been built on the former monastery grounds is the further development of Sister Irmengard's place of work.
The nun had come to Adelshofen in 1973 and quickly took over the sacristan service. From 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005 until the dissolution of the monastery in 2014, Sister Irmengard was superior of the School Sisters of the Poor. "She was a designer, organizer and educator," Bals said. She gave her students the tools they needed for life – including former mayor Michael Raith, for example, who went to school with her. Bals himself knows the new honorary citizen from his time as an altar boy.
"A few words do not do justice to Sister Irmengard's very valuable work for the village community," said Mayor Bals. When he presented the sister with the certificate of her appointment as an honorary citizen of Adelshofen, there was minutes of applause and standing ovations from the people of Adelshofen.
Sister Irmengard is thus the fifth honorary citizen of the village – and only the second woman to receive this honor, as parish council chairman Schmitz emphasized. The other was also active in the convent: Sister Herta. The nuns can now be mentioned in the same breath as the male honorary citizens, the former mayors Benedikt Schwarz and Michael Raith as well as the former second head of the town hall Johann Siebenhütter.
