March 24, 2019. Sister Leona 105 years old. Dutch TV “Kruispunt”, Interview with Sister Leona. Click on the picture to watch the interview. Translation by Ineke, edited by John, subtitles by Ruud.

A very special birthday in "Kruispunt". (Dutch TV program on March 24, 2019, NPO 2) An old acquaintance for many viewers: Sister Leona from Maastricht celebrates her 105th birthday. That makes her the oldest nun in her monastery "Onder de Bogen" (Below the Arches) in Maastricht. Even though things are going a bit slower physically, every morning she arises happily: "Then I thank Our Lord that I may live another day." She is still busy with the world around her: "I pray for all the people who are sick or are confronted with violence in the world." Sister Leona and her twin sister Gerosa lived in the monastery for over eighty years. The sisters said they had hoped to be 100 together. It was not to be, Sister Gerosa died shortly before their 100th birthday. "Missing a twin sister is something totally different than just missing a sister. It feels as though something has been ripped out of you. I often think about her," says Leona. Whether she'll see her sister again, she dares not to say: "I do believe in Heaven, but yes, no one has ever been able to verify it’s existence". Since her 100th birthday, a special friendship has developed with her great idol André Rieu. Every summer she now waltzes with him on the Vrijthof. "He brings something special with his music, he makes people happy. If I experience a hard day, I turn on his music and then I just forget everything". Sister Leona is already practicing for next summer. "I think I can be there again, but we'll just have to wait and see. I only live from day to day", she says laughingly.