Mother Judith Mietzelfeld (1921-2014)
/ Mother Judith was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, 1st October 1921. Her father had become an American citizen after emigrating from Germany. Her mother was born in the USA in a family of Irish origin.From 1938 to 1942 Mother Judith studied English language and literature at the College of New Rochelle, New York, and in 1942 she entered as a postulant in the Eastern Province of the United States (Roman Union). As a junior she continued her studies at Fordham University, New York. From 1945 to 1956 she taught Philosophy and English at New Rochelle.
In response to an appeal from the Institute, she joined the Austrian Province in 1957 and was formally transferred in 1961. At first she taught in the Ursuline High School in Salzburg. Then in 1964 she was appointed Provincial Prioress. She remained in this post until 1971 when she was elected Prioress General.
Her election took place during the second session of the Special General Chapter (1969 – 1971) and her mandate spanned the years of Lead a New Life, from its publication “ad experimentum” until the Constitutional Chapter of 1983. It was she, with her Council, who implemented the decisions of the Special Chapter.
During the 1969 session of the Special Chapter, the principle of unity in diversity was explicitly formulated, modeled on the life of the Trinity. During these years, interest was concentrated on exploring the theological riches of unity itself, as well as the means of achieving unity by more participative structures in the life of the Institute. In Lead a New Life unity appears as a theological value rooted in the Gospel.
Lead a New Life was indeed welcomed for its spiritual and evangelical expression of the life of the Institute. In Circular 201, in July 1973, Mother Judith gave greater depth to the theme of communion. “The difference, the relation between communication and communion have been my deepest meditation during these months as Prioress General…Communion is the living out in hiddenness or in open celebration of the Good News.” “It is good to be aware of the biblical call to growth, not only to movement, and to union, not only to differentiation….Growth together, communion in the growth of the whole Christ, is the first priority. I am glad that the name of our Institute is “The Roman Union of the Order of St Ursula” because I believe that the whole name indicates several aspects of the specific charism of our Institute, present implicitly in the spirit of St Angela and fully according to the Heart of Christ.” (Circular 203, February 1974)
Government was seen as a way of promoting real unity in a diversity of situations. General and regional meetings were to be a means of growing in unity. For example, in 1977, Mother Judith began the Asian Ursuline meetings which have continued into our own time, now known as Asia/Pacific meetings.
After the close of the 1971 Chapter, the new general government looked for ways of carrying out the directives of the Chapter: “Experts in communication will work with us at the Generalate.” (Circular 198, March 1972) The team of experts also reorganized the work of the general administration and their recommendations concerning the secretariat and the filing system are still in operation today.
But communion would not come about without struggle, nor grow without pain. These were still years of controversy within communities and a time of struggle to move ahead while maintaining a balance with the past. Mother Judith had the task of helping communities and provinces to move towards real reflection and mutual understanding.
Another concern of Mother Judith’s, in keeping with the call of the Second Vatican Council, was to rediscover our roots. These were the years before Contribution towards a Biography, but time and again she urged the sisters to read Angela’s writings in their entirety, to take what she says and not try to fit her words into our own plans. “Do not be afraid to be confronted by Angela.”
In her Circulars, Mother Judith boldly challenged her sisters on their living of the consecrated life, on their fidelity to prayer and on their criteria for keeping or rejecting past practices. As well as returning to our roots, she encouraged us to know our history – to understand the journey along which we had come.
In the EGC of 1980, the Provincials each presented the history and development of their own province. Afterwards they were asked to communicate to their sisters what they had heard. Written accounts were published in the InterUrsuline Bulletin.
“What happened at this EGC of ’80 was that the participants marvelled as we heard, again and again, one province after another give the same constant characteristics in their unique province histories…..While fulfilling the need to establish and present our own diversity…..(this EGC) led us on in the crucial other movement: to develop, present and understand our unity. The happy truth is that the exploration of our diversity throughout history showed us how united we actually have been.” (Fixing our Eyes on Jesus 1983 Sexennial Report)
The two mandates of Mother Judith as Prioress General span the period of experimentation at the end of which she prepared the Constitutions Chapter of 1983 which gave the Institute the definitive Constitutions approved in 1984.
After the completion of her second term, Mother Judith returned to the Austrian Province and was again appointed Provincial for three mandates from 1984 to 1993.
As Prioress General and as Provincial, Mother Judith was conscious of the difficulties of our sisters who were behind the “iron curtain” and she took every opportunity to visit them, regardless of the danger to herself. In this way, she was able to support them and to keep them in contact with the rest of the Institute.
From 1993 to 1995 she was involved in pastoral work in the Council of Vienna’s English-speaking Catholic Community. From January 1996 to June 1997 she undertook missionary service in Taiwan as leader of the Bible study groups in the Ursuline College, Kaohsiung. After her return, she continued her ministry of pastoral service in hospitals and in a geriatric care centre. When she was unable to continue this work, she served as a translator for the Afro-Asian Institute in Vienna.
As she grew older, she judged the time right to withdraw from a more immediate participation in general government. In 1995, she proposed that only the immediately precedent Prioress General be a member of the General Chapter, thus excluding herself. But her interest and prayerful support remained alive and strong. She was particularly happy to receive the texts of conferences given at EGCs and other meetings. Each year she chose a special Christmas card over which she would pray. This inspiring picture and her own spiritual reflection on it she shared with sisters throughout the Institute.
In 2011, after her 90th birthday, she moved to Klagenfurt because she felt the need of the support of a larger community. During this last year, she moved to a nursing home where she could have the specialized help that she needed. She was within five minutes’ walk from the community and the sisters were able to visit her whenever they wished. Even though, in these months, she was not always aware of the situation, she always loved to have people visiting her. She died peacefully on 20 October 2014.
May she rest in peace!