Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn

Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn is a Catholic church foundation under public law (kirchliche Stiftung öffentlichen Rechts) headquartered in Heiligenbronn, a district of Schramberg in the Rottweil district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is a major provider of social services in southern Germany, operating facilities and services in the fields of participation (Teilhabe), elderly care (Altenhilfe) and child and youth welfare (Kinder- und Jugendhilfe). According to its official website, it offers prospects for the lives of around 6,200 people at more than 30 locations in southern Germany, serving children and young people, older people in need of care, and people with disabilities. The foundation was established on 7 March 1991 and received legal capacity from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Education on 11 April 1991. It took over the social tasks previously carried out by the Franciscan convent of Heiligenbronn, which had been founded in 1857 by the priest David Fuchs. The convent and the foundation remain closely linked by their shared mission. As of 31 December 2025, the foundation employed around 2,700 people. A distinctive professional focus of the foundation is the support, education and care of people with sensory disabilities, especially people with deafblindness and dual sensory impairment (Hörsehbehinderung). It runs special education and advisory centres with a focus on hearing and vision, together with associated boarding schools. Its services range from early intervention and school education to residential and employment offerings. The foundation is recognised as one of four competence centres in Germany for people with deafblindness/dual sensory impairment with a school offering, and as a qualification institute for deafblind assistance in Baden-Württemberg. The foundation is governed by a two-member executive board; since 2023 Andrea Weidemann and Stefan Guhl have served on the board. Its supervisory body is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, and it is a corporate member of the Caritas Association of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. It also maintains a foundation archive documenting the history of the convent and its institutions, including the period of National Socialism and post-1945 residential care.

The history of Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn is closely intertwined with the Franciscan convent of Heiligenbronn on the edge of the Black Forest. The site itself has older roots: a spring that still flows today, symbolised by a wooden Pietà in the Gnadenkapelle, established a pilgrimage here in the 14th century, which was tended by Franciscan sisters in the Middle Ages. In 1857, the priest David Fuchs founded the convent Heiligenbronn as a sister community of the Third Order of St. Francis at the existing pilgrimage site. The era was marked by impoverishment and neglect. David Fuchs was especially committed to children, who were hardest hit by this distress. Without capital of his own, with 'shameless trust in God' and restless energy, he built up the sister community and the 'rescue institution' (Rettungsanstalt). The founding mission — to live the Gospel and to stand up for poor, disabled and disadvantaged people — remained alive throughout. Many deaf, blind and orphaned young people were given education, work and a home. The sisters also served in many kindergartens, in the care of old and sick people in families, in recreation and rehabilitation facilities, and in religious encounters, retreats and exercises. Over time, 17 branches of varying duration belonged to the mother house in Heiligenbronn near Schramberg. As early as the 19th century, the convent took in children with hearing and visual impairments. In 1860 the first deaf child was admitted, and in 1868 an offering for blind children was created. In the following decades, Heiligenbronn developed into a place with specialised facilities for people with sensory disabilities. Institutions under convent sponsorship included the Mädchenheim St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn, the Knabenheim St. Antonius Salzstetten-Heiligenbronn, the Gehörlosenschule Heiligenbronn, the Blindenschule Heiligenbronn, the Blindenschule Baindt and the Kinderheim St. Josef Baindt. With the decline in the number of nuns and the growing demands on the social institutions, their sponsorship was reorganised. On 7 March 1991, Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn was established; on 11 April 1991 it was granted legal capacity by the Ministry of Education of Baden-Württemberg. The foundation took over the social tasks previously borne by the convent. The convent and the foundation remain closely connected through their shared concern; today the convent Heiligenbronn still counts 22 sisters. The foundation's history also encompasses the period of National Socialism. The historian Hans-Joachim Losch examined NS forced sterilisation using the example of people from the then Erziehungsanstalt Heiligenbronn in a study published in 2002, dealing among other things with the then Blindenschule and the affected residents. Post-1945 residential care in Heiligenbronn is also the subject of historical reappraisal. For the years 1949 to 1975, the convent Heiligenbronn and Stiftung St. Franziskus have acknowledged responsibility for suffering, violence and abuse experienced by former home children in their institutions and have offered measures for reappraisal. The foundation archive documents the past of the convent and the foundation on a scholarly basis and is available for inquiries and research on the Heimkinder era and the time of National Socialism. Today the foundation operates facilities and services at more than 30 locations in southern Germany. As of 31 December 2025, it employed around 2,700 people. According to the city of Schramberg, around 500 people with sensory and multiple disabilities are cared for at the Heiligenbronn site alone, with around 450 employees. A special professional focus is work with people with deafblindness or dual sensory impairment. The Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg lists Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn as one of four competence centres for people with deafblindness/dual sensory impairment with a school offering in Germany. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Taubblindheit lists the foundation as a qualification institute for deafblind assistance in Baden-Württemberg. The foundation was a cooperation partner of the IKI-TAU research project (2019–2024), which developed a procedure for early identification and functional assessment of children, youth and adults with deafblindness/dual sensory impairment, conducted by the Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg and supported among others by the foundation and Nikolauspflege Stuttgart. The special educator Andrea Wanka worked for the foundation from 2012 to 2018 and was involved in building a competence centre for deafblindness/dual sensory impairment; in 2018 she was appointed to a endowed professorship for deafblind/dual sensory impairment education at the Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg.

• 2025

  As of 31 December, the foundation employs around 2,700 people.

• 2023

  Andrea Weidemann and Stefan Guhl join the Executive Board.

• 2019

  The IKI-TAU research project (until 2024) begins, with the foundation as a cooperation partner.

• 2018

  Andrea Wanka is appointed to an endowed professorship for deafblind/dual sensory impairment education at the Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg.

• 2012

  Special educator Andrea Wanka works for the foundation until 2018 and is involved in building a competence centre for deafblindness/dual sensory impairment.

• 2002

  Historian Hans-Joachim Losch publishes a study on NS forced sterilisation using the example of people from the then Erziehungsanstalt Heiligenbronn.

• 1991

  On 7 March, Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn is established; on 11 April it receives legal capacity from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Education.

• 1868

  An offering for blind children is established.

• 1860

  The first deaf child is admitted to the convent's institution.

• 1857

  Priest David Fuchs founds the Franciscan convent Heiligenbronn as a sister community of the Third Order of St. Francis.

Values-oriented, modern Catholic social service provider with the highest professional standards, placing 'being human' at the centre for clients and employees alike.

• Residential and support services for people with disabilities

• Elderly care and nursing services

• Child and youth welfare services

• Early intervention (Frühförderung)

• Special education and advisory centres with focus on hearing and vision

• Boarding schools

• Vocational education and employment offerings

• Deafblind assistance and qualification

1. 1Die Stiftung St. Franziskus in Schramberg-Heiligenbronnstiftung-st-franziskus.de
2. 2Die Geschichte der Stiftung St. Franziskusstiftung-st-franziskus.de
3. 3Das zentrale Archiv der Stiftung St. Franziskusstiftung-st-franziskus.de
4. 4Kloster Heiligenbronnstiftung-st-franziskus.de
5. 5Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronnwikidata.org
6. 6Stiftung St. Franziskus Heiligenbronnde.wikipedia.org