The time to seek God,
is this life.
The time to find God,
is death.
The time to possess God,
is eternity.

St. Francis de Sales

God, the Creator and Lord of our lives, has called our dear

Sr. M. Cornelia

Elisabeth Paradeis

home to eternity on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 00:30.

Sr. Cornelia was born on July 16, 1928, in Kittsee, Burgenland, as the third of four children to her parents, Fabian and Maria Paradeis. After attending elementary school in Kittsee, she attended secondary school and a business school in Engerau (now a district of Bratislava, Slovakia). Afterward, she worked on her parents’ farm until her father and brother returned from war and captivity. Lacking alternatives, she took a position as a nanny in a Viennese family in the fall of 1946. The religious atmosphere of this family, as well as her parents’ home, and her active participation in the parish youth group allowed her vocation to the religious life and entry into our congregation, which she knew through sisters in the Kittsee hospital, to mature. In December 1949, she was accepted; in September 1955, she made her perpetual vows.

The work in nursing – she obtained her diploma in 1966 – gave Sr. Cornelia great joy. In this way, she was able to realize her “ideal of serving God and her fellow human beings.” Her tasks were diverse: nursing and assignments in various specialized areas at Lainz Hospital (Hietzing), teaching sister at the Horn Nursing School, head of patient administration, and later nursing director of a ward at Hartmannspital. From 1994 to 2000, Sr. Cornelia was Superior of the community and Director of the Elisabethheim nursing home, Vienna-Ober St. Veit. She then remained there until the spring of 2012. She spent her twilight years in the nursing ward of the motherhouse, where she was lovingly cared for during years of needing care. She herself endured this condition with admirable patience.

Sr. Cornelia had a cheerful, sociable nature, which pleased her fellow sisters and a large circle of acquaintances. Her eyes, which shone until the very end, will always remain in our memory. She was always very connected to her Burgenland homeland.

Funeral

at the Vienna-Ober St. Veit Cemetery: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 11:00 AM.
Holy Mass in the nearby San Damiano nursing home, Josef Kraft-Weg 9 at 12:00 PM.

Obituary of Sr. M. Cornelia