Sister Consolata Maderbacher

A woman modernises the Elisabethinen Hospital

Anastasia Maderbacher was born in Köppelreith near Pöllau in eastern Styria in 1937. At the age of 18, she joined the Order of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth in Graz, where she took her vows in 1959. The young woman eager to learn also completed training as a registered nurse and later as a surgical nurse. In 1971, she was elected head of the sisterhood for the first time and remained Mother Superior of the Convent of the Sisters of Elizabeth in Graz for 30 years.

The Order of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth was founded by Apollonia Radermacher (1571–1626) and named after St. Elizabeth of Thuringia (1207–1231), who dedicated her life to charity and benevolence. To this day, the Elisabethians continue to work according to the motto “Look and act”. Sr. Consolata also followed this guiding principle when she initiated the new construction and renovation phase of the Elisabethinen Hospital in Graz in 1975. The hospital at Elisabethinergasse 14, which was founded in 1693 by Maria Theresa Countess of Wagensperg as a hospital for the poor, which particularly benefited women in need, was continuously expanded until 1955, but by the early 1970s it had become so outdated and in need of renovation that the religious community, under the leadership of Sr. Consolata, decided to build a standard hospital with five specialist areas: Medical department, surgical department, ENT department, anaesthesia department and X-ray diagnostics.

The Graz-based architect Dipl.-Ing. Fridrun Hussa was commissioned with the overall planning. Sr. Consolata Maderbacher was thus the first woman in Styria to commission and oversee the construction of a modern hospital. Her organisational talent and tireless commitment were instrumental in the renovation of the Elisabethinen Hospital, which plays an important role in healthcare provision for the population of Graz and Styria. After serving as Mother Superior, Sr. Consolata Maderbacher was Vicar General for twelve years and remains General Treasurer and General Councillor of the Convent of the Sisters of Elizabeth to this day.