Necrology for Maria Theresia Baroness von Paravizini (Ursuline in Bruneck)

Appendix.

Necrologies. 2/2

(Conclusion.)

II.

Maria Theresia (baptized Sidonia), from the noble family of the Barons von Paravizini, was born in Obermais near Meran on 2 August 1755. Her devout and attentive parents, Bernhard Baron von Paravizini, a native of Milan, and Anna Baroness von Zinneberg, *) devoted every effort to their daughter's education, sending her at the age of fifteen first for three years to the convent in Münster in Graubünden, and subsequently in 1774 to the educational institute in Bruneck. Here, those admirable qualities unfolded that would later bear such abundant fruit. Declining brilliant marriage proposals offered to her, she chose the Ursuline Order; on 21 October 1776, she took the religious habit, and on 1 March 1779, with a six-month dispensation of age granted by Her Majesty Empress Maria Theresa upon earnest supplication, she pronounced her solemn vows.

From the date of her clothing until ten days before her passing, spanning more than 47 and a half years, she dedicated herself uninterruptedly to the instruction of young women, even during the six years she served as kitchen prefect and the eleven years she acted as house prefect; she worked thirteen years as boarding mistress in the educational institute and the remaining time as classroom teacher in the town girls' school, which she also headed as prefect for the last nineteen years.

The extent of her work in this field is beyond description. On school days she remained with the children long after the regular four hours of instruction, inviting them to school on holidays as well whenever possible, keeping them engaged in pleasant ways. To be in school among the children was her greatest joy, through which she forgot all hardships and physical infirmities. The children were equally devoted to her and attended her classes with such eagerness that half-sick pupils often had to be sent home.

Even in advanced age and amidst frequent indispositions, she remained consistently cheerful, free from outdated prejudices, willingly adapting to new educational regulations and following every instruction from her superiors. In general, she possessed the virtues of humility and obedience to a consummate degree. Within the convent she requested the lowest tasks, swept classrooms, personally cleaned neglected schoolchildren, and declined the office of superior conferred upon her in 1796 with unceasing pleas. The present worthy superior affirms that during her fourteen years in office, she never once needed to repeat an instruction to Mother Theresia.

Alongside these virtues, she was distinguished by a profound spirit of devotion, using every spare moment for prayer, dedicating many night hours to it, and keeping her heart fixed on God throughout all tasks. No complaint ever crossed her lips; she was content with everything, even the scantiest fare, and the mortifications she imposed upon herself frequently required moderation by the superior. In short, she was not only an exceptional teacher but also a true religious who esteemed her vocation highly and gave daily thanks for it, sending words of gratitude even in her final illness to a gentleman in Bruneck whose father had once escorted her there.

A month before her death, following the burial of a fellow sister, she approached the superior, thanked her warmly for all the kindness shown to her, and stated that she was destined to be the next in the convent to depart this life (which indeed came to pass); she added that she had nothing left to accomplish in this world, as her assistant Xaveria would fully replace her in the school.

Her final illness lasted only ten days, during which the schoolchildren went unbidden from church to church to pray for her recovery. In the Christian and devout disposition in which she had lived, she passed away peacefully on 5 April 1824. At her well-attended funeral procession, almost all the schoolgirls wept, alongside many adults who had been her pupils; her grave continues to be visited frequently by grateful hearts.

Honor to this warm friend of youth, who quietly achieved so much good — a true religious possessing such profound virtue! Many families will bless her memory, to whose welfare she contributed substantially through the education of future mothers. The contributor of these notes likewise owes to her many pleasant hours occasioned by her tireless and fruitful work in the school. Perhaps her genuine Christian virtue will in time meet with even greater and more widespread appreciation.

*) The baronial family of Zinneberg descends from the noble Franzin family, who held the predicate of Zinneberg or Zwinneberg — a castle located within the Count of Brandis's jurisdiction of Tisens; upon the family's elevation to baronial rank, they dropped the name Franzin and took the title of Barons von Zinneberg zu Weissenheim, Mareith, and Campan. A brother of this nun's mother, Ignatz, was canon in Brixen and parish priest in Telfs in 1726.