At the end of 2022, Mr. Thomas Scherrieb, Administrative Director and Board Member of the Hegne Monastery Foundation, retired. For 23 years, Mr. Scherrieb was deeply committed to the monastery and its works, playing a key role in shaping them. He had served as its Executive Director since the Hegne Monastery Foundation was established in 2018.
The official farewell ceremony took place on Friday, January 13, 2023. Following a thanksgiving service in the monastery church—led in part by the monastery’s church musician, Roland Uhl, and the monastery choir—the numerous guests were invited to the Hotel St. Elisabeth. Among them were Mayor Stefan Friedrich and Diocesan Caritas Director Birgit Schaer, who also delivered remarks. A vocal trio made up of staff members provided musical accompaniment for the farewell celebration.
Provincial Superior Sr. Maria Paola Zinniel welcomed Mr. Scherrieb, his family, and the guests on behalf of the entire convent and the Hegne Convent Foundation, and paid tribute to Mr. Scherrieb’s dynamic work, interspersing her remarks with memories and anecdotes. “Starting with a well-established family business, you transformed the convent’s works and facilities into modern structures—thinking and acting with an eye toward the future—and continuously took on more and more responsibility.” She also noted that the extensive construction projects during the “Scherrieb era” were always aimed at building for the future, so that the monastery’s mission—care, education, hospitality, support, and guidance—could continue to be fulfilled in a spiritually grounded, professionally competent, and financially secure manner.
In his welcoming remarks, Mayor Stefan Friedrich did not hesitate to describe the monastery as a “stroke of luck for the community.” “Through your consistently positive cooperation with the community, Mr. Scherrieb, you have always sought to secure the best for the monastery, while also keeping an open ear to the concerns of the community.” As a constructive partner, Mr. Scherrieb has always kept an eye on the positive development of the monastery as well as that of the village and the community.
Diocesan Caritas Director Ms. Birgit Schaer thanked Mr. Scherrieb on behalf of the Caritas Association of the Archdiocese for their excellent, reliable collaboration. “As a trailblazer and source of inspiration, you looked beyond the surface and contributed to structural realignments.”
On behalf of all 345 employees, the members of the monastery’s management team bid a humorous and very personal farewell to their boss with a musical thank-you, noting that they had “shared the highs and lows, joys and sorrows, fun and grief” with him: “We’re really going to miss you!”
Visibly moved by the high level of appreciation, Mr. Thomas Scherrieb expressed his gratitude and brought everyone’s attention back to the present: “We’re still in the middle of the process—it’s not over yet!” On February 1, 2023, Professor Dr. Florian Kluger will succeed Mr. Thomas Scherrieb as managing director of the monastery and as chairman of the board of the Hegne Monastery Foundation. Things will continue to go well with his successor, who was also present, based on the values outlined in the Hegne Values Compass: “Togetherness – Openness – Trust – Responsibility.”
We would also like to take this opportunity to once again thank Mr. Scherrieb and invite him to come visit us here at beautiful Lake Constance!
