“Griass Gott!” 
My Name is Ilona Maria Kies and I am a Silesian Bavarian. My parents are from Silesia, the area of Germany that became part of Poland after World War II.  I was born in the beautiful village of Manching, south from Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, Germany.  It’s there that we greet each other with these beautiful words, “Griass Gott,” which, literally translated, means “to greet God.”  For the northern Germans this is sometimes misunderstood as the order to greet God.  Because of that, you might get the response, “If I see him”, to which you would respond, “hopefully not too soon.” 

Growing up in beautiful Bavaria, as the oldest of four children, I was surrounded by the faith.  Since my youth, I was involved in parish youth activities. One of the hardships though in school was my difficulty in learning other languages. (In Germany it is common to have learned a new language as early as third grade.)

Surprisingly enough, during my last years in high school, the desire and thought popped into in my head: “Ilona, you should do a volunteer year in the States.”  Years after, I am convinced this desire was from the Holy Spirit and not from me. 

Well, if Ilona makes up her mind, she looks for a way.  After sharing these thoughts with my parents, my mom had the idea of asking Father Michael, a Legionary priest, if he might know any volunteer program.  My parents had known the Legionaries of Christ since Father Kelly has started to connect with people in Germany.  We did not know the bigger reality of Regnum Christi at that time, since we did not have so much contact with them yet. But all that changed with this one thought.

To make a long story short, Father Michael made the contact to two Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi:  Melanie Zoll and Nancy Nordhen.  They came to visit me and soon after, I served a year as a Regnum Christi Missionary in Cracowia, Poland, with two Mexicans.  It was not the United States, but English improved as I talked with the Polish people and the Mexicans in English.  It was one of my best years of my life!

That year, God started to conquer my heart and invited me to be completely His.  On August 29, 2004, I stood in front of the altar in our motherhouse in Rome and made vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to God.  God then fulfilled my desire, because from Rome I was sent to Greenville, Rhode Island, where I spent the first four years of my consecrated life studying our Regnum Christi consecrated life, learning more about God, and discovering more about the mission He had in store for me.  I completed my BA in Religious and Pastoral Studies while in Rhode Island.

June 29, 2008, on the feast of St. Paul and Peter, I arrived back in Germany where I spent almost thirteen years in ministry.  During my first years back, I worked in Bavaria in youth ministry. We traveled every week from Düsseldorf (the northwest Germany) to the south.  Later, I continued youth ministry in parishes in Düsseldorf.  I was part of the catechetical pastoral team, teaching First Communion and Confirmation classes. 

Besides my passion for music, which I used while serving in different music ministries in Regnum Christi and the local Church, I started discovering my passion for communication.  After applying for a bachelors in Media Design, I received an admission to a renowned university for Media Design in Cologne. Those years from 2016 to 2018 were the most exhausting ones for me.  While I loved my studies, the training was demanding.  I continued in catechesis, as well as part of the international communications team for the Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi.  I also become part of the diocesan pastoral council for the Archdiocese of Cologne. 

Studying with so many different people was enriching.  Through those years, I was also able to develop beautiful friendships in Regnum Christi and in the local Church.  My last years in Germany, I formed part of the communication team of the ApostelHaus, Ratingen and supported the general government of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi with communication projects.  It was during those years that I felt God asking me to dare to open my heart to a new mission. 

A beautiful discernment began to find God´s voice in my heart with my directors. That was when supporting youth work in Cincinnati become a reality.  But it definitely took time to become “really” real, as COVID hit and with the challenge to get a visa. God´s timing is not our timing, let me tell you…but finally, I can say, I am home!  I am looking forward to beautiful and engaging years with all of you.

May God bless you!

Ilona