On the morning of July 2, 2026, the General Chapter of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Motherhouse Augsburg, elected a new religious leadership team. Sr. M. Dorothee Maier was chosen as Superior General, succeeding Sr. M. Carissima Fendt in this service of leadership. She will be assisted by four General Councilors: Sr. M. Margarete Bail, Sr. M. Johanna Keller, Sr. M. Emmanuela Hartmann, and Sr. M. Hannah Altmann.

From right to left are: Sister M. Margarete Bail (General Councillor), Sister M. Johanna Keller (General Councillor), Domvikar Andreas Miesen (Delegate oft the Bishop), Sister M. Dorothee Maier (Superior General), Sister M. Emmanuela Hartmann (General Councillor) and Sister M. Hannah Altmann (General Councillor).

The Congregation expressed heartfelt gratitude to all who accompanied the days of preparation and the election with prayer. In the life of a religious community, a General Chapter is not only an administrative exercise. It is a time of discernment, listening, gratitude, and renewed commitment to the charism received and lived through generations.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of Augsburg are a Catholic religious Congregation rooted in the Vincentian tradition. Their history reaches back to the wider family of communities inspired by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, whose spirituality placed the service of people in poverty, illness, and vulnerability at the center of Christian life. The Augsburg Congregation’s own historical path is described as a journey “from Paris through Strasbourg and Munich to Augsburg,” shaped by the desire to make the merciful love of God visible and tangible to people in need.

The community’s local story began in Augsburg in 1847, when Sisters from the Munich Motherhouse took up their first mission in the city. From the Barbarahof, they began caring for the sick, visiting people in their homes, and responding to concrete needs with a Vincentian spirit of service.

In the following decades, the Augsburg foundation grew into an independent congregation. Sister M. Aloisia Zeller became the first Superior General of the newly independent Congregation in 1895. By 1939, the community had reached its highest number, with more than 900 Sisters serving in around 90 houses throughout the Diocese of Augsburg.

Like many religious communities in Europe, the Congregation has lived through times of great change: war, social transformation, fewer vocations, the closing of some houses, and the reorganization of ministries. Yet its mission has remained constant. Today, the Congregation numbers just under 100 Sisters. Their fields of service include accompanying people in different life situations, pastoral ministry, and therapy for people living with addiction. The older Sisters continue their mission especially through prayer for the needs of the world and for the personal intentions entrusted to them.

The Congregation’s Motherhouse is located in Augsburg, at Gögginger Straße 94. The current Motherhouse, with its care facility, was inaugurated in 2014 and reflects the changing needs and life stages of the Sisters. The Congregation is also part of the Federation of Vincentian Communities, linking it to a wider network of communities that share the spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul.

The election of Sister. M. Dorothee Maier and the new General Council therefore marks both continuity and renewal. It entrusts the leadership of the Congregation to Sisters called to guide the community in fidelity to its Vincentian identity: prayer, community life, humble service, and compassionate presence among those who experience poverty, loneliness, illness, addiction, or other forms of suffering.

As the Sisters begin this new chapter, the wider Vincentian Family joins them in gratitude and prayer. May the new leadership team be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, supported by the prayers of the community, and guided by the Gospel call to make God’s mercy visible in the lives of those most in need.