Karolina Gerhardinger

Bavarian sister/educator

Karolina Gerhardinger (20 June 1797 – 9 May 1879) (also known as Mother Maria Theresia of Jesus) was a German Roman Catholic religious sister who founded the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Gerhardinger served as an educator in Bavaria until the establishment of her order, which provided free education to the poor and soon expanded in Europe. The canonization process for Gerhardinger was opened in 1952 under Pope Pius XII, when she was declared a Servant of God. Pope John Paul II declared her Venerable in 1983 and beatified her on 17 November 1985.

Gerhardinger was born in Bavaria on 20 June 1797 as the sole child of Willibard and Franziska Gerhardinger. Gerhardinger moved in with two companions to start living the religious life on 24 October 1833 – this saw the formal establishment of the Poor Teachers Sisters of Notre Dame, commonly called the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

The informative process for the beatification cause commenced in 1929 that Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber both inaugurated and later closed in 1932. Theologians approved her writings on 22 February 1933 while the apostolic process opened in 1953 and concluded in 1955. The Congregation of Rites validated the previous two processes in Rome on 31 January 1952. The formal introduction of the cause came under Pope Pius XII on 11 July 1952, granting her the title of Servant of God. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints had their officials and consultants discuss the cause in a meeting on 18 May 1982, in which the board approved the cause, while the bishop and cardinal members of the C. C. S. approved the cause on 7 December 1982. Pope John Paul II declared Gerhardinger to be Venerable on 13 January 1983 after confirming her heroic virtue. The process for investigating a miracle attributed to her opened and concluded in the area that it originated in and received C. C. S. validation on 3 July 1983. The medical board approved the miracle on 8 November 1984, while consulting theologians also voiced approval to the miracle on 28 February 1985. The C. C. S. approved the miracle on 16 April 1985 while John Paul II granted final assent to the healing on 9 May 1985. John Paul II beatified her on 17 November 1985.