Catherine Blom was born on 3 May 1876 in Schlindermanderscheid. Her parents, Pierre and Anne-Cathérine Blom, raised 14 children. One of the daughters, Marguerite, entered the Franciscan congregation in Luxembourg, Marché-aux Poissons in 1893. Catherine joined her sister in 1898. Called Sister Flavia, she devoted herself to her religious education and training as a nurse.
On 6 November 1911, Sister Flavia was transferred to Beaufort to care for the sick. The congregation of the Franciscan Sisters had a small house there, which had been bequeathed to them by the widow Lorang-Reckinger. In Beaufort, Sister Flavia found the mission of her life. Untiring and always smiling, she helps every inhabitant in distress, no matter if their misfortune is physical or moral.
The repressions of the Second World War and especially the "Rundstedtoffensive" only strengthened the ties between the sisters and the people of Beaufort.
In 1947, Sister Flavia was sent to Mersch for health reasons to regain her strength. The people of Beaufort were saddened that she could not return and the mayor sent a petition to the Mother House, urging the return of Sister Flavia. The villagers, exhausted by the war, have nothing: there is no doctor, no nurse and no medicine. The inhabitants were so distressed that they even asked the district commissioner of Grevenmacher to send a second letter to the Mother House.
On the day of her return, Sister Flavia was warmly welcomed in Beaufort. Under the benevolent eyes of the villagers, she continued her inexhaustible work.
The nun lived her last years in Itzig where she died on 29 November 1961.
Source:
● Franciscan Sisters - Mother House.