It was a special day for the Franciscanessen Sisters in Veghel. Queen Máxima came to them on Wednesday afternoon for a working visit. The monastery and the immediate surroundings have been considerably renovated in recent years and now the residential and care area is almost ready. “Today is the icing on the cake,” says a proud sister Gerda.
The sisters have been in the center of Veghel for more than 180 years. At the height there were more than 100 sisters, now 18. “It was much too big,” movers up parent Gerda. “We wanted to give this entire complex a good destination.”
For a moment there was the plan to sell the entire eight -hectare complex and to turn it into a hotel. But that idea did not go well with all sisters, especially because they were known for their lives devoted to care. And the solution was also found there. “The thought of what we have done here for years in the monastery had to continue, but in a different way.”
“We get a little on our Sodemieter from time to time.”
The Kloosterkwartier, the area around the monastery and the former hospital, has been developing more and more since 2016 into a new neighborhood. There are owner -occupied houses, social rental apartments and care homes. In addition to living, there is also attention for (social) care in the neighborhood.
Within the Kloosterkwartier, for example, there is a daycare center, a meeting room, a billiard club and work is being done again in the old laundry of the sisters. “It must be a place where people know each other, a place where we respond to the needs of time,” says project developer Coen Hendriks.
The sisters have always been closely involved in the plans of the project developer. “For every new development we asked for permission from Sister Gerda. We even get a bit on our Sodemieter occasionally that things were not going fast enough,” laughs Hendriks.
“The meeting with the sisters was fantastic.”
The end of the project is now in sight. Reason enough for the project developer to invite the queen. The still eighteen living sisters were allowed to drink a cup of coffee and in the photo with her. “I was next to it,” says 92-year-old sister Julia shortly after her Majesty left the company. “She’s so normal. As if it is my own sister.”
“Today the icing on the cake,” adds Sister Gerda. “That she was here, we are very happy with that. It was not always easy in recent years, but we can eventually look back on it satisfied.”
Queen thought the same about that. “The meeting with the sisters was fantastic. It is very special that they give the place back to the community. A place that fits their ideals.”
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