Maria Paulina Cals
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Peter Mathijs Cals | |
| Moeder: | Anna Mechtild Mennens | |
| Geboren: | 20 Juni 1905 | Sweikhuizen, Schinnen |
| Overleden: | 28 Feb 1999 | |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Cals First Name: Maria Paulina Alias: SISTER EMERENTIA Date of Birth: 20/06/1905 Date of death: 28/02/1999 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Profession: NUN Organization/ Religious order: The N.V.- LTD Group (en-va LTD.Group) Place during the war: Brunssum, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Brunssum, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Supplying basic goods File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/2609) After joining the St. Vincent monastic order, Maria Paulina Cals, born in Sweikhuizen, adopted the name Sister Emerentia. In Brunssum, Limburg, she became known as the flying nun, because in her capacity as district nurse she drove her motorcycle at lightning speed from one patient to the next. In November 1943, H. Tulleners, the local physician, asked her to treat a group of Jewish children suffering from scabies who were hiding temporarily on Brunssum Heath in the pumping station of the Limburg mines. In the pumping station, Sister Emerentia found 21 Jewish children covered from head to toe with scabies. She energetically undertook the treatment, which involved washing the children with green soap, rubbing them with sabiscol, and boiling all their clothes. Following her first visit, Sister Emerentia made almost daily calls to the pumping station, each time getting past the guards with a new fabricated story. She also confided in the mother superior of the convent, who then urged the other nuns to collect clothing and toys for the children, so that Sister Emerentia could give a Santa Claus-type gift package to each hidden child at Christmas time. Sister Emerentia even arranged a candlestick for Hanukah and treated the children until the liberation of South Limburg in September 1944. On June 7, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Maria Paulina Cals (Sister Emerentia) as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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