Blessed Maria Teresa of Jesus: "Let Us Give God Our Whole Heart"
Whoever obeys and teaches the commandments of the Lord will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. —Matthew 5:19 Caroline Gerhardinger was born in Stadtamhof (a suburb of Regensburg), Germany, in 1797. As a girl, Caroline was educated by the Canonesses of Notre Dame , a religious community founded by Saint Peter Fourier and Blessed Alix Le Clerc . In 1809, the school was suppressed and the sisters dispersed as part of Napoleon’s anti-clerical campaign. And so, at only 15 years of age, Caroline began teaching other girls. She demonstrated great gifts and came to the attention of Father Georg Whitman, who took Caroline under his wing. Under Father Whitman’s direction, she completed her education and, again, served in the school from 1816 to 1833. This priest, who would eventually become bishop of Regensburg, shared with Caroline his dream of sending out teaching sisters, two by two, into the rural schools of Bavaria. While his untimely death in 1833 left Caroline with no money o...