Josefa Stenmanns

In February 1884, once her family obligations were fulfilled, Hendrina traveled to Steyl, in the Netherlands. It was there that Father Arnold Janssen, having fled the German Kulturkampf, had established a mission house to train priests. Not yet having a female branch, Father Janssen accepted Hendrina as a domestic servant and kitchen maid. For five years, she humbly accepted this laborious task, living in renunciation and patience, while nurturing the desire to support the missionary work. On December 8, 1889, the foundation of the female branch was finally laid: Hendrina Stenmanns and Helena Stollenwerk, along with a few other companions, became postulants. This was the birth of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS). After her novitiate, Hendrina took her first vows in March 1894 under the name Sister Josepha. Within the community, Sister Josepha first assumed responsibility for the practical tasks of the house, then became mistress of postulants, demonstrating a deep understanding of human nature and great maternal gentleness. In December 1898, when co-founder Helena Stollenwerk (Mother Maria) joined the newly created contemplative branch (the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration), Sister Josepha was appointed superior of the congregation. Under her leadership, the institute experienced rapid development and sent its first missionaries to Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Mother Josepha was quickly regarded as a soul of profound holiness, characterized by her human and spiritual balance. Despite severe asthma attacks and other health problems that weakened her strength, she continued to guide her sisters with patience and charity. She passed away on May 20, 1903, in Steyl, at the age of 50. Her reputation for holiness prompted the congregation to introduce her cause for beatification. The diocesan informative process took place from 1950 to 1952 in the Diocese of Roermond. The cause was officially introduced in Rome on April 2, 1982. On May 14, 1991, Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic nature of her virtues, declaring her Venerable.

On June 1, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing a miracle attributed to her intercession. This miracle concerns the unexplained healing that occurred in 1985 in Brazil of a young man, Valdir Bender, who was in critical condition following an appendectomy complicated by irreversible shock. After prayers were addressed to Mother Josepha, the patient recovered his health suddenly and completely. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 29, 2008, in Tegelen (near Steyl), in the Netherlands. It was presided over, in the name of Pope Benedict XVI, by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The spirituality of Blessed Josepha Stenmanns is summarized by her famous motto: "Both feet on the ground, heart anchored in God!" She lived a holiness of daily life, combining a highly developed practical sense with an intimate union with the Holy Trinity. Her constant prayer was the Veni Sancte Spiritus ("Come, Holy Spirit"), seeking to make every breath an act of love and offering for the propagation of the faith. She wrote in particular to Father Arnold Janssen: "I desire nothing more than, by the grace of God, to be the smallest and to offer myself as a sacrifice for the work of the propagation of the faith." Today, her legacy endures through the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, who count thousands of religious sisters working in more than 40 countries around the world, continuing the work of evangelization, education, and care for the poorest initiated at Steyl.