March/April 2016 PNN

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The newsletter of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province.

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News Notes
PROVINCE

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF CARONDELET AND ASSOCIATES • ST. LOUIS PROVINCE • MARCH/APRIL 2016

The heavens declare
the glory of God;
the skies proclaim
the work of God's hands.
-Psalm 19:1

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
4-5

Province News Notes is a
publication of the Sisters of
St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis
Province. Its purpose is to promote
dialogue and unity within the
St. Louis province and to keep
members informed on those
subjects that promote community
and ministry.
We welcome your submissions!
Submit articles and photos to
Sarah Baker at [email protected].
**Materials are subject to editing
and will be published at the
discretion of the editor.

14-15

10-11

PLANNING PROCESS

A SPECIAL MISSION

2016 CELEBRATIONS

The Health & Wellness
Committee provides
updates on what is in
place for the care of our
sisters.

From Peru to St. Louis:
Sister Zaida Perez Peralta
completes a one-year
immersion experience.

Let us come together in
celebration of the Jubilee
Receptions of 1956 and
1966, and the Generosity
of Joseph Honors Gala
honorees.

CONTENTS
Province Leadership News...................................................................................3
Health & Wellness Committee......................................................................... 4-5
Province News.......................................................................................................6
Focus on Earth.......................................................................................................7
Congregational News.................................................................................... 8-11
Multicultural Awareness............................................................................... 12-13
2016 Jubilee.........................................................................................................14
2016 Generosity of Joseph Honors Gala..........................................................15
Sponsored Institutions.........................................................................................16

• STAFF •

St. Louis News.......................................................................................................17

Jenny Beatrice
Editor

Archives................................................................................................................18

Sarah Baker
Graphic Design

Necrology: Sister Margaret Camper.................................................................20

Madeleine Reilly &
Print Shop Volunteers
Production, printing and mailing
Sarah Baker
Jenny Beatrice
Jane Behlmann, CSJ
Mary Flick, CSJ
Madeleine Reilly
Proofreading

Necrology: Sister Margaret Gregg....................................................................19
Necrology: Sister Rose Mary Willett...................................................................21
Necrology: Associate Karen Cox......................................................................22
Necrology: Sister Mary Annette Schorman......................................................23
CSJ Book Club.....................................................................................................24
CSJ Event Recap: Linger Over Breakfast.........................................................25
CSJ Events & Happenings............................................................................ 26-27
Back Cover..........................................................................................................28

ON THE COVER: EARTH DAY 2016

Let us continue our call to action to live in communion with the
earth as we celebrate Earth Day on April 22. In its 46th year,
this movement to inspire, challenge and motivate people on
environmental issues focuses on “Trees for the Earth.” So, let’s get to
planting! Visit earthday.org for more information about Earth Day.
Learn how Sister Janet Kuciejczyk’s passion for justice has made an
impact on the Earth through the Intercommunity Ecological Council
on page 7.
Page 2

March/April 2016 PNN

Province Leadership Team

2014-2019 Province Leadership Team: Sisters Rita Marie Schmitz, Marilyn Lott, Mary Margaret Lazio,
Linda Straub and Maureen Freeman.

Are We Settlers?

by Sister Maureen Freeman
There’s a commercial for DIRECTV that has really caught
my attention. In some ways it is very silly, but it also has a
very important message.
It shows a family, dressed and living like 20th-century
settlers, while everyone around them is living in modern day.
The children of the family keep asking why they can’t have
better TV like their neighbors. The father’s simple answer:
“Because we’re settlers.” And therein lies the pun.
The next few words out of his mouth get me every time.
“We’re settlers because we settle.” Of course, he means they
settle for something that’s less than perfect.

regarding water, climate change, food, consumption and
waste.
That darn commercial makes me ask myself:
• What have I done in the last six months about my water
usage?
• What actions have I taken to confront climate change?
Have I made any changes in where I buy my food or
what kinds of food I buy?
• What about consumption and waste?
• Am I settling into a routine that is comfortable without
even thinking of what it does to Mother Earth?
Am I a settler? Are you a settler?

Every time I see it I ask myself, “What have I ‘settled’ for?
What is it that I’m content doing or being?” To me being
“settled” means I don’t need to be inconvenienced; I don’t
need the aggravation; I don’t need my life disrupted. I’m
comfortable.
Since Earth Day is right around the corner, my thoughts
have turned to our Acts of Chapter that we, as a province,
are working on this year: Communion within the Earth
Community. This is a call to action, not a call to be “settlers.”
On page 6 of the Congregational Chapter of 2013, the
second belief statement commits us to specific actions

Let’s get unsettled and do something different this year for
Earth Day on April 22. Invite folks over for dinner and a
movie with an Earth Day theme.* Let’s think about the
food we serve—really think about it—and where it came
from. Let’s get unsettled by learning new facts around earth
community issues. Let’s challenge each other to not be
settlers!
*Movie Suggestions: The Lorax; Food Inc.; Blue Gold: World
Water Wars; Dirt! The Movie; Gasland; Fern Gully: The Last
Rainforest; Tapped; The Corn King.



March/April 2016 PNN

Page 3

Health & Wellness Committee
Planning Process Update
What is currently in place for the care of our sisters?

Once Upon a Time…Nazareth Living Center
By Sisters Kathleen Karbowski and Pat Dunphy
“Once upon a time” ... six Sisters of St. Joseph moved to the
new world ... it was 1836 and they did not know what the
future held for them. Little did they know that their love
for one another and for their dear neighbor would be an
invitation to thousands of young women over the next 180
years to join their community.
In 1880 Nazareth Convent was established to care for
the sick and infirmed members of the community. Sisters
cared deeply for each other. Some were educated as nurses,
pharmacists, physical therapy aides—all with the idea that
the sisters would be cared for in their last years. The “new”
Nazareth was opened in 1965 and continued to be the place
for the sisters to live their last years. Because of a concern for
the dear neighbor, McGovern Commons was built in 1992.
Lay people were welcomed to live with the sisters. Nazareth
Living Center was established and became a licensed facility
by the state of Missouri.
Today, Nazareth is still inviting the dear neighbor to live and
pray with us. The number of sisters is dwindling, but there
are still a large number who need care. Some are living in
the newly built “Village at Nazareth” that is for independent
living. Others are in Gleason Hall, where 62 receive some
assistance with their daily needs. Another 30 are living in
McGovern Commons, the skilled facility.
The Community Life Staff (six full-time sisters, three
part-time sisters and three lay people) care for the daily
needs of the sisters who reside at Nazareth. The primary
responsibility of the staff is to advocate for the sisters, to be
“family” for them. It is important that the needs of the sisters
be made known to the administration at Nazareth.
It also means making doctor/dentist appointments; finding
drivers to those appointments; taking sisters shopping or
shopping for them; attending care plans; keeping family
members updated about a sister’s condition; scheduling
Page 4

March/April 2016 PNN

retreats; picking up over-the-counter medicines; mailing
packages; reading and writing letters for them; and
organizing celebrations like jubilees and parties.
And the staff does all this with smiles on their faces, because
we love our sisters and they love us! We are extremely
grateful to our sisters and associates who volunteer to assist
us, of which many take “on call” shifts from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
One of the greatest gifts is to be with a sister when she is
dying, to sit with her and help her plan her funeral. Then
we celebrate her life, and “prepare the way” as her body is
given over to the mortuary for burial. This little ceremony is
truly touching if you have ever had the privilege of being at
Nazareth when a sister (or any resident for that matter) dies.
Nazareth is undergoing a time of renovation and building.
Another 50-room apartment complex is being added to The
Village. A memory care unit designed to accommodate 44
residents suffering with Alzheimer’s disease will be added
off the present chapel area. Nazareth is about growth and
development. During this time of renovation, there is “no
room in the inn” for any sister who has the need of skilled
nursing. Therefore, at this time, we have sisters who need
our “family care” located at Laclede Groves Skilled Facility.
They are receiving excellent care there and are visited daily
by one of our staff members.
Nazareth is about living—living life to the full into eternal
life. Please continue to pray for and support our ministry
and know that our sisters at Nazareth and our Community
Life Staff will continue to pray for you and your ministries.
We began with the words commonly used in fairy tales,
“once upon a time.” We conclude with the words, “with God’s
providence and St. Joseph’s guidance, they all lived happily
ever after!”

Outside the Boundaries of Nazareth
Journeying with Sisters 70-plus
By Sister Bonnie Ann Murray

What about the sister who doesn’t reside at Nazareth or any
other assisted living/skilled facility? Who journeys with her?
The Office of Senior Ministry serves sisters beginning at age
70 and continues until a sister moves to Nazareth. This gives
you a quick overview of the current scope of the Office of
Senior Ministry:
1. Assessing
During these 10-20-plus years, communication is kept
up through visits, phone calls or emails. Currently, we
minister to 176 sisters in 15 states and two countries,
necessitating quite a bit of travel at times. We, together
with the sister, ascertain her health, safety and quality of
life in her present residence. If she can no longer care for
herself without a great amount of assistance, she notifies
us of her decision to move to Nazareth, or we strongly
advise her to consider moving there.
2. Assisting
We assist her with the application process, set up dates
for interview and admission, make sure she has an
appointment with her primary care physician who sends
in a medical report to Nazareth. If she needs assistance
with sorting and packing, closing out her current living
space, we help. Sometimes she needs help closing out
her house account. We continue the journey with her
through her day of admission.
3. Advocating
We advocate for sisters, regardless of age, who may
need Med A rehab following surgery. Again, we assist
them through this process, making certain a Med A

bed is available, coordinating their follow-up doctor
appointments and attending their care plans.
4. Transportation
We keep track of the driving test program. Sisters need
to be tested at ages 80, 83 and 86. At age 89, they are
tested yearly. Sisters (and associates) who volunteer to
drive for our office or Nazareth also need to be tested
every three years. Tests are scheduled twice a year (May
and October), and on an as needed basis: if a sister
has two at-fault accidents in a three-year period, she
is required to be tested, according to Province Policy.
How do we know if a sister needs to be tested due to
accidents? We are notified by the Finance Office, which
has records of accidents from the Insurance Company.
5. Travel
Another area of responsibility is to manage the CSJ
Elderhostel Fund. When a sister finds a Road Scholar
program in the continental United States that she would
like to attend, she contacts us for a request form. Then
we assist her through the related procedures: filling out
a registration form, applying for a program scholarship,
and requesting reimbursement for the funds she took
from her house budget.

I leave you with these questions:

• Who is “walking with” the sisters who are under the
age of 70?
• How may they best be served?

A Message from the Government Committee
In preparation for the next Province Chapter of Elections
(2018-2019) the Government Committee is calling for
volunteers to serve on the Selection Committee. See pages
7 and 11 of the Government Plan for a description of the
selection process and the composition and responsibilities
of the Selection Committee.

Please forward your name and a brief statement of your
interest and availability to Sister Mary Carol Anth,
executive secretary of the Government Committee, by
April 15.



March/April 2016 PNN

Page 5

Province News

A LOVING WELCOME to our newest St. Louis CSJ Associates of the Marian Cowan Community!
Congratulations to the eight new associates who made their Initial Commitment at the Mardi Gras
Mass and Celebration on Feb. 7.
Front (l-r): Donna Corno, Maureen Wessels, Sylvia Morton and John Morton
Back (l-r): Dan Winkelmann, Susan Lenihan, Ellie McGahan and Patrick McDowell

Support the Mission and Ministry
of the Sisters of St. Joseph
Tuesday, May 3
24 hours of giving.
Visit givestlday.org on May 3 and donate!
Spread the word to family and friends!
Page 6

March/April 2016 PNN

focus on earth
Stories of Justice

Engage Support, Reverence the Earth
by Sister Mary Flick, Justice Office Coordinator

S. Janet is eager to talk about her highest ecological issue.
“Water is a human right,” she says. “The crisis in Flint,
Michigan, is an example of the abuse of water.
Water is not a luxury, not something to pay
for. And it is an issue that I personally can
do something about.”

Sister Janet is involved in three justice
ministries. She serves on the Marian
Middle School Members Board. She
is a tutor through the Immigrant
and Refugee Women’s Project. But
the ministry that has garnered her
faithful allegiance for 14 years is the
Intercommunity Ecological Council (IEC).

She also called attention to one of
earth’s primary nemeses—plastic.
“There is a plastic island in the middle
of every great waterway,” she says. “It’s
an island of plastic waste. And plastic
never disintegrates, it just gets smaller,
until it’s eaten by animals and passes into
tK
e
our
food chain.” What can be done? Janet’s
an
Si s t e r J
first answer is practical and simple: “Remember
your cloth bags.”

Begun in 2001, the IEC represents 15 congregations
of women religious and one male congregation, as well as
Rockhaven Ecozoic Center. Its members meet monthly
to share and discuss ecological topics and take action on a
variety of eco-justice issues and projects. Sister Janet has
represented the Sisters of St. Joseph since 2002.
The IEC’s accomplishments include carbon footprint
workshops in the St. Louis area, an interfaith film series on
justice issues, a sustained voice for urgency in the Westlake
Landfill issue, and an interfaith prayer service prior to last
December’s climate forum in Paris.
S. Janet was involved with the IEC while teaching at
Ursuline Academy. There, she blended her passions and
helped found the Inter-School Ecological Council (ISEC)
in 2008, which includes six local all-girls high schools. Sister
Janet served as co-moderator of the Environment Club until
retiring in 2014. Under her guidance, students worked with
food service consultants to provide more vegetarian options
for the school lunch programs, to buy from local grocers, to
eliminate the purchase of bottled water, and to decrease the
use of Styrofoam. It was a concrete way for Janet to pass on
her concern for the environment to the next generation.

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When Sister Janet Kuciejczyk retired after teaching both
high school French and Spanish for 41 years, one would
have thought that she would take some time
to consider where she might next focus her
energy. But her passion for justice has not
required any long deliberations.

And she sings the praises of Pope Francis’ recent encyclical
on integral ecology, Laudato Si, as no other pope has given
this much attention to ecology.
S. Janet says the gifts of the IEC are both visible and unseen.
“Doing with other communities gives us more personnel,
more energy. We are not alone. We have one another’s
support and encouragement in reverencing the earth.”
It’s a support S. Janet finds crucial, as the Sisters of
St. Joseph continue to be in communion within the earth
community and to join with others in addressing issues
important to the dignity and well-being of all.
Sister Janet’s Top 5 Earth-Friendly Tips
1. Use cloth bags while shopping.
2. When cold in the winter, instead of turning
up the heat, put on a sweater.
3. Drive less, consolidate trips.
4. Avoid wasting food; take smaller portions.
5. Refuse to buy bottled water; carry your
own BPA-free water bottle.


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 7

Congregational News

Congregational Leadership Group Meets in Lima, Peru
February 18-22, 2016

from the Congregational Center
The Congregational Leadership Group met in Lima, Peru,
from February 18 to 22. After a very warm welcome by our
sisters in Peru, we gathered in the “kitchen of LePuy,” then
spent an afternoon of personal reflection on two questions:
What am I being called to now? What grace do I need to
ask for as we begin our days together? We came back to the
kitchen and shared our responses.
Sister Mary Dacey, SSJ, from Philadelphia who facilitated
our retreat experience at Linwood Retreat Center last
September, spent two days with us to help us think
creatively about our congregation. We explored images,
thoughts and feelings about our future, which evoked
stimulating discussion.
After reviewing the historical background of the Chapter
2013 Call to Action to “continue intra-congregational
conversations and discernment about oneness and structures
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March/April 2016 PNN

begun at chapter” (p. 9), we discussed how the experiences
created by the Process Design Team have been addressing
this call. We emphasized the importance of every sister’s
participation in one of the upcoming retreat opportunities,
either in her own or another province of the congregation.
We named as integral to the retreat experience the
opportunity for each sister to share her insights on how our
relationships and structures will enable us to move forward
in mission as a congregation.
Regarding finances, we approved proposed budgets for
chapter implementation projects. We also received our 2017
congregational budget and reviewed our congregational
investment funds and how they are used.
We discussed the recommendation from the archivists of
each province and vice province based on a professional
study of the archives in Albany, Los Angeles, St. Louis and

St. Paul. There was unanimous approval of moving forward
with the consolidation of the archives with the goal of
finalizing the site no later than September 2016.
The Partnering with New Eyes Call to Action to “collaborate
with representatives from CSJ-sponsored ministries and
institutions to explore ways to build capacity for mission
integration into the future” (p. 11), was addressed with
a brief summary of the work done by the St. Louis
Sponsorship Task Force. Everyone was encouraged to
continue sharing developments as they pursue this Call to
Action.
Our Peruvian leadership team led a discussion of cultural
differences. Videos about the Peruvian culture provided
thought-provoking personal reflection. We also discussed
the differences between surface culture and deep culture, and
how we are called to respond.
Updates were presented about sister formation and
vocations: 1. The Congregational Formation Plan is still
being developed. 2. Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Peru

are working on a plan for a congregational sister formation
process. 3. A working group will develop plans for a
congregational approach to vocation ministry for women
interested in becoming sisters.
Our congregational magazine focusing on the mission and
needs of our sisters in Peru will be mailed around May 1
(more information below).
Our first intention is to raise awareness, trusting that
significant financial support for our sisters will follow.
We were touched by each of our sisters in Peru, especially
by their deep faith, their faithfulness to one another and the
mission, and their deep trust and hope for the future. The
hospitality we experienced was total gift.
We left with grateful hearts and returned to our home
provinces eager to celebrate the feast of Joseph with
our jubilarians. We know ever more deeply that our
congregation is blessed by women who live into the mystery
of being called by God. May we courageously continue that
graced journey.

New Congregational Magazine to Highlight Peruvian Community
by Kim Westerman, Congregational Communications Coordinator

On May 1, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet will
publish the inaugural issue of Carondelet, a congregational
magazine. This issue highlights our vibrant Peruvian
community.
This publication is the result of two years of collaboration
between communication directors, development directors
and leadership in all of our provinces and vice provinces.
“This project is important because it shows that though we
come from different cities and ministries, we know that there
is strength in working together,” said Sister Barbara Dreher
of the Congregational Leadership Team. “We thank those
friends and donors of the Sisters of St. Joseph who will join
us in supporting our sisters ministering in Peru.”
Our sisters have been present in Peru for more than 50
years. They live in both urban and rural areas in three cities
around the country, ministering in education, counseling,
parish ministry, hospital chaplaincy and more.

Thanks to a generous grant from the GHR Foundation,
Ann Thompson and Ralph Scorpio, who work in
communication and development respectively for our St.
Paul province, were able to visit Peru in March 2015 to
interview, photograph and video sisters, along with help of a
professional videographer.
“Peru is a welcoming and beautiful country and the sisters
there talk about the importance of walking with the people,”
says Ann. “I watched that happen every day of my visit. The
sisters have a deep and abiding love for the people they work
with. Their care and compassion is gladly returned. As they
often reminded me, their work is about presence.”
Ann is also using the interviews and footage to create the
next installment of “In Search of the Divine,” a video series
on spirituality produced by our St. Paul province, which will
be available soon.



March/April 2016 PNN

Page 9

A SPECIAL MISSION
FROM PERU TO ST. LOUIS: SISTER ZAIDA PEREZ PERALTA
COMPLETES YEAR-LONG IMMERSION EXPERIENCE

Compiled by Jenny Beatrice from the writings of Sisters Zaida Perez Peralta
and Sandra Straub. Translations by Sister Ida Berresheim.

Last March, the St. Louis province welcomed Sister Zaida
Perez Peralta from the Vice Province of Peru for a one-year
immersion experience. It wasn’t Sister Zaida’s first time in
the United States, but in many ways it was a first for her, the
province and the congregation.
This unique program was designed for S. Zaida to learn
English while experiencing culture, custom and community.
She lived at the motherhouse in St. Louis, worked in the
province’s Archives Department, and participated in the
International Institute of St. Louis’ immersion program.
Yet, S. Zaida speaks of a broader objective. “It is a special
mission to come to know our congregation in the United
States—our sisters, their missions, their culture, their language,
their reality and our rich, historical heritage of evangelization,
as well as our life in looking toward the future.”
Life at the Motherhouse
Life at the motherhouse offered S. Zaida an abundance of
opportunity for rich interactions. Central to her experience
were the sisters with whom she lived in the Holy Trinity
Community—Sisters Rose Mary Brueggen, Paula Patrice
Michaud, Janet Muehlbauer, Patricia Quinn and Sandra
Schmid.
“The Holy Trinity Community offered kindness,
understanding and the necessary help, which permitted me to
be a member of the community, giving me the opportunity to
live my process of learning and speaking English,” she says.
“The good interpersonal relationship among us deepened
community prayer, Wednesday Sharing of the Heart and the
many times we open our house to other sisters to celebrate our
lives together.”
S. Zaida was also grateful to be in the company of sisters, like
Ida Berresheim, Mary McGlone, Maureen Freeman and others,
who were familiar with her native language and homeland.
“Immersion is a strong challenge. It helped me so much to be
with sisters with whom I could occasionally speak Spanish and
express myself with depth.”
Page 10

March/April 2016 PNN

She also enjoyed connecting with the sisters from the various
motherhouse communities, sharing Eucharist, prayers, meals,
good conversations and support in difficult times. And she
appreciated the engagement with the associates and dear
neighbors that come through the motherhouse doors for
meetings, events, concerts, and more.
“I believe I have grown much in the living of these many events
and experiences in the motherhouse and in my community,
Holy Trinity” she says.
A Ministry of Immersion
When S. Zaida arrived at the International Institute, she was
placed at the intermediate/high level in her English classes and
could understand a little more than what she could speak. She
credits her fine professor, daily reading of the Bible in Spanish
and English, and the Holy Trinity Community’s help for
developing her speaking, reading and writing skills.
However, the institute’s program goes beyond learning English,
offering a full spectrum of adjustment services directed toward
immersion, investment and inclusion. Their programs serve
more than 7,500 immigrants and refugees from 75 countries,
each with a story to tell.
As a Sister of St. Joseph, S. Zaida recognized that she could
be a loving presence to her classmates by walking with them,
sharing stories and listening empathetically.
“At the institute, I found a good place to realize the ministry
of accompanying persons, giving my time to listen to their
joys and sorrows, their experiences in this new culture, and
memories of their families and their people to the degree that
our facility with the language allowed.”
Broadening Horizons
Many sisters introduced S. Zaida to the culture and history
of St. Louis, but she also had the opportunity to expand her
vision of the United States and the CSJs’ presence in it.
Sister Mary Kay Liston invited S. Zaida to Kansas City (along
with Sister Sandra Straub as her companion and translator),

hoping to share S. Zaida with the KC region and the KC
community with S. Zaida. To that end, Sisters Sandra and
Zaida joined the KC sisters in their monthly potluck and
Sharing of the Heart/State of the House meeting.
Additionally, S. Mary Kay led them on a whirlwind tour of the
institutions where our CSJ works of service began 150 years
ago: St. Joseph’s Hospital, Avila University, Visitation Parish,
St. Teresa‘s Academy, and the Cathedral. S. Mary Kay imparted
a rich and deep knowledge of the significance of this service
and the mutual impact received between the people of KC and
the Sisters of St. Joseph.
.
In Green Bay, S. Zaida got a taste of rural life with Sister Pat
Vanden Bergh, who serves in Hispanic pastoral ministry at
St. Philip and St. Bernard Parish. As Wisconsin is an
agricultural state, there are many migrants from Mexico and
Central America who help on the farms. The parish assists
immigrant families with basic necessities, education and
religious formation.
“My horizons have been widened as I visited other places
of our missions such as Green Bay, Kansas City and other
communities in St. Louis,” S. Zaida says. “I feel that I am
the inheritor of the generous gift of love and care of the dear
neighbor. I have also seen new faces of God in the life of the
special people such as immigrants and others who call for our
service.”
New Perspectives
S. Zaida says this experience has helped her to know the reality
of the lives of the people and of the congregation in the United
States and to recognize her own reality in Peru.
With Peru being a smaller and more integrated unit without
associate members, S. Zaida appreciated gaining a sense of the
relationship between the sisters and the associates.
“After learning about their process of formation and knowing
some of them, I understand their importance and I feel more
open to new forms of relationship for the service of the dear
neighbor.”

S. Zaida also witnessed another kind of partnership, coming
face-to-face with parishioners while doing mission appeals with
Sister Sandra Schmid and Ida Berresheim. “With the sisters
help, I could express in English my gratitude for the generous
support of the people and the evangelizing action of our
sisters,” she says.
Working in the province archives with Sister Jane Behlmann
was another new endeavor for S. Zaida. This work widened
her scope of the CSJs and of her ministry possibilities. “Sister
Jane gave me the opportunity to collaborate and learn,” she says.
“The sisters in the archives oriented me and have developed my
interest in this service in the Vice Province.”
And after learning about who we are as a congregation in the
past and present and imagining who we will be in the future,
S. Zaida is committed to continuing the study and practice of
English in Peru. “I consider it important for communication
among us.”
Gracias
Sister Zaida’s “special mission” ended on March 30 as she left
for Peru “deeply happy and grateful.” She wishes to express her
profound thanks to the many people who made this immersion
experience possible, especially for:
The Congregational Leadership Team for extending to the
sisters of the Vice Province of Peru the experience for one year,
of which I was the first to enjoy this.
The St. Louis province for welcoming me and providing for me.
The Holy Trinity Community with whom I have participated
in nearly all the activities of the province.
The sisters in charge of the archives for all their help.
The sisters who have given their lives in service and now are in
need of our care.
For all this, generously shared, I am truly grateful and enlivened
to continue serving with generosity and the for love of God and
the dear neighbor without distinction.

Left: Sister Betty Conrad, who serves in the Vice Province of Peru, at her 2015 jubilee with Sister Zaida Perez.
Center: Sisters Zaida, Miriam Ukeritis, Mary Ann Leininger and Rose Mary Brueggen at S. Zaida’s motherhouse
farewell party. Right: Sisters Sharon Jones and Zaida dancing at the party.


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 11

Multicultural Awareness
Metropolitan Congregations United & Sacred
Conversations on Race (+ Action)
by Associate Dorothy Dempsey

Metropolitan Congregations United is a faith-based
community organization in St. Louis. Organizing through
religious congregations, M.C.U. addresses a variety of social
justice issues. They develop leaders who will impact public
policy decisions, and the allocation of resources that create a
better life for all citizens, especially the poor.
M.C.U. and multi-cultural awareness are like shoes are
to leather—much needed with feet planted firmly on the
ground.
M.C.U. advocates for awareness, sensitivity, and providing
a greater understanding of the history, values, experiences
and lifestyles of different groups of people. Building on these
values and experiences, M.C.U. leaders help to bring change
to the whole region. They are a reason for celebration in
their willingness to take risks and step out on faith.
My acquaintance with M.C.U. came about through my
church. I was privileged to attend a couple of M.C.U.
functions. I felt the organization had much to offer, but I
never really became involved. In fact, I was not into social
justice issues at all. It is like they always say, you are as
innocent as a lamb until the slaughtered lamb is thrown
on your doorstep. The slaughtered lambs for me were
Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. The hatred, prejudice,
unspoken truths on racism and brutal history came back to
roost on my doorstep.
The first thing I did after Trayvon Martin’s death was ask
our pastor if I could do something at our church in memory
of Trayvon. He was very open to the idea and supported
us all the way in our endeavor. I planned and organized the
event. It was suggested we do it on the Feast Day of the
Transfiguration. The program required me to speak. Public
speaking is something I have never been fond of doing, but
God knew what was in my heart and he has always been by
my side. The program was a success.
My work in social justice really began when I received an
email from M.C.U. inviting me to their Sacred Conversation
on race (+ action). This is how I became totally committed.
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March/April 2016 PNN

The first Sacred Conversations event was held at St. Louis
University. Call me naive, but imagine my shock when I
walked into a room of mostly white people. My first thought
was, “This does not seem right. Where are the black people?”
I left that day with a completely new mindset. In relating
my experience to my pastor, my words to him were that I
felt that God was in the plan. It showed me that there are
caring white people not created in our likeness but are just as
concerned about doing the right thing.
My next thought was that white people were the ones that
really needed to be there to hear the story. We as AfricanAmericans are living the story every day. Our history is still
evolving and has not been resolved.
The ground-breaking experience for me was the tragic killing
of Michael Brown by a police officer that occurred right here
in my hometown of St. Louis. When I saw Michael lying in
the street, all I could think of was this: only by the grace of
God this was not my son or any other African-American
mother's child lying in the street dead. No matter the
circumstance, it was heartbreaking to think of how Michael's
parents must have felt.
The parents, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr.,
made us all proud as African-Americans. They stood side
by side, united in their desire to forgive and to not let their
child’s death be in vain. They decided that if Michael’s death
could help someone, then they would use his death as a
platform to make it happen.
This is what M.C.U. is all about. The challenge of trying
to make everyone aware of the racism that has shaped
our community at every level: education, economics
transportation, and sadly, even the church.
From Jefferson City, Missouri, to the mayor’s office, city
hall or marching in the streets, M.C.U. feels called to stand
united with churches and clergy to fight for justice and peace

2016 Feuerbacher Grants

Listed below are the programs that have been granted funding for 2016.
Almost Home, $3,000

Funding for housing homeless teenage mothers and their
children in the St. Louis area.
Cardinal Ritter Senior Services, $5,000

Providing ongoing services to impoverished seniors living
with mental illness in the greater St. Louis metropolitan
area.
Center for Women in Transition, $7,000

Most Holy Trinity Catholic School & Academy, $3,000

Tuition assistance/scholarships for low-income students.
Queen of Peace Center, $7,000

Computer literacy and employment skills program for drug
rehab residents.
Rockhaven Ecozoic Center, $4,000

Providing support of the Women’s Renewal Series program.

Funding for Direct Client Assistance (bus passes, medical
co-pays, etc.) and staff support for women who are
reintegrating into their families and communities after
incarceration.

St. Anthony Food Pantry, $5,000

Gene Slay’s Boys’ Club of St. Louis, $6,000

Funds to assist updating the girls’ locker room.

Funding for the Documentation Assistance Program which
assists immigrants in St. Louis City.

Laughing Bear Bakery, $4,000

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, $7,000

Start-up costs for bakery employing women ex-offenders.
Let’s Start, Inc., $6,000

Expanding services to the caregivers of the children of
incarcerated women.

in a neutralized and sinful world. M.C.U. is working to
end the structural racism that twists our community and is
killing our young people.
They focus on having the shepherds of our churches rid
themselves of the fear of losing their sheep and speaking out
from the pulpit about the injustice of the world.
The people of M.C.U. have been an inspiration to me, and
they are the reason I decided to try and make a difference
in my life as well as in the lives of others. As a result of
my association with M.C.U., I have started a social justice
ministry at our church and I serve as the co-chair of the
ministry. It all has been very rewarding for me.

Scholarships for women earning their Patient Care
Technician (PCT) licenses.
St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, $8,000

Parish facility repairs.
Walker-Scottish Rite Clinic, $5,000

Providing speech and language therapy to pre-school-age
Hispanic children through the Clinic’s KidStart program.

The words of Desmond Tutu speak to me of injustice and
the oppressor:
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen
the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the
tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse
will not appreciate your neutrality.
God does not appreciate our neutrality when we do not
respect each other through mistreatment, abuse, indifference
and apathy. I invite you to the challenge of making a
difference in someone's life.
Come and stand in solidarity with me, an associate of the
Sisters of St. Joseph, with Metropolitan Congregation
United and all the people that fight for justice in an unjust
world. You will be blessed.


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 13

75 Years
Sister Laurita Joseph Nemec
Sister Martha Ritter

70 Years
Sister Ann Albrecht
Sister Ruth Baudhuin
Sister Leo Ann Bub
Sister Ruth Marie Burkart
Sister Anna John Igoe
Sister Ruth La Var
Sister Christine Massman
Sister Justine Ostini
Sister Edward Cecilia
Schniedermeier
Sister Kathleen Stack

60 Years
Sister Phyllis Bardenheier
Sister Mary Joyce Bringer
Sister Barbara Ellen Fleury
Sister Helene Gutchewsky
Sister Rita Louise Huebner
Sister Jean Junak
Sister Monica Marie Kleffner

Sister Maureen Kottenstette
Sister Barbara Moore
Sister Patricia Murphy
Sister Martha Niemann
Sister Carol Olson
Sister Mary Ann Potts

50 Years
Sister Barbara Lynn Dreher
Sister Jeanne Janssen
Sister Mary Frances Johnson
Sister Anne Kelly
Sister Marilyn Lott
Sister Linda Carol Maser

For more on the 2016 jubilarians
and to make a donation in honor of a
sister, visit www.csjsl.org.
Congratulate and share your memories
of the jubilarians on our Facebook page
at www.facebook.com/csjsl.
Note: Jubilee contributions and
thank yous will be included in the
May/June issue.

“WHY DID YOU STAY?”
“My life as a Sister of St. Joseph
is home to me. It’s my skin, the
air I breathe and the values
and energy that get me up,
keep me up and drive me to
be a Gospel presence.”
Sister Barbara Dreher

“Community is where I can
be my best self and become
who I am meant to be. Since
this is so rooted in me, I feel
called to walk with others and
encourage them to be their
best self.”
Sister Marilyn Lott

“It is only by God’s alwaysavailable love that I have
remained faithful to God’s
faithfulness to me. Without my
vocation to religious life, I may
not have stayed tuned-in to
the God within who loves me
as I am, yet always urges me to
become more.”
Sister Pat Murphy

2016 Jubilee Celebrations
60th JUBILEE

Page 14

March/April 2016 PNN

GOLDEN JUBILEE

Reception of 1956

Reception of 1966

Saturday, May 7
10:00 a.m. Mass, followed by brunch

Saturday, August 6
11:00 a.m. Mass, followed by lunch

RSVP by April 28 to
[email protected] or
314-481-8800

RSVP by July 28 to
[email protected] or
314-481-8800

The Sisters of St. Joseph’s Generosity of Joseph award annually celebrates individuals who positively influence society
and encourage others by their example of life-altering generosity in the spirit of St. Joseph, our patron. The awards will
be presented during the annual Generosity of Joseph Honors Gala on April 22 at the Carondelet Motherhouse.
Meet our honorees:

Kathleen E. Murphy

Ann Rotermund

Former Educator, Volunteer and Activist
Heals and Reconciles
Serves all persons without distinction.

Former Senior Director of Mental Health Programs
(St. Patrick’s Center)
Activist/Advocate for the Homeless
Promotes justice with a particular concern for the poor.
Recognizes and defends the human dignity of all.

Saint Louis

Kathleen is a former CSJ and is originally from Chicago,
Illinois. After many years of teaching and serving as principal
at St. Pius V School in St. Louis, Kathleen was injured by a
single bullet and was left paralyzed from the waist down. This
has not stopped her nor slowed her down. Currently, she is
working at Doorways, which provides housing and related
supportive services for people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Kathleen says, “I reflect at times on what it means to have a
seen disability and realize how many others are overlooked,
those with something unseen, because no one bothers to take
the time to stop and notice them.”

Saint Louis

Ann began her teaching career while a member of the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She returned to St. Louis in
1985 and started at St. Patrick Center that same year. In her
tenure at St. Patrick Center, she served in various capacities.
She continues to volunteer there and has served on the State
Advisory Committee for the Department of Mental Health,
was nominated for the Archdiocesan Catholic Women’s Award
and BJC Health System Spirit of Women Award. She received
the Cardinal Rigali Service Award.
“Every new year in teaching reminded me that I needed to give
every child a new chance to learn and grow,” Ann says. “My job
was to offer them the space, support and encouragement to do
that. I took this attitude with me to the work at St. Patrick’s.”


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 15

Sponsored Institutions
Embodying St. Joseph’s Academy
by Mary Weiss ‘15, SJA alumna

Not I, but We, Values-driven Women Leaders, and
Serving the Dear Neighbor without Distinction, are just
a few of the many slogans St. Joseph’s Academy implants in
the heads of the students to help them to continue to grow
in excellence.
Not I, but we means we work better and are better as
a whole when we come together as a community. The
community of St. Joe is outstanding. The relationships I
made over the four years I attended will be cherished for a
lifetime ...
We build each other up and stick together because we are
a family. For instance, my friend found out she had a brain
tumor freshman year, and right away the Angels were
there to support and love her. When another close friend’s
father passed away, the SJA community was at his funeral
to comfort the three sisters. Even though I graduated, the
Academy will always be there for me because once an Angel,
always an Angel.
St. Joe strives to mold the girls into Values-driven Women
Leaders. The teachers and administrators expect us to “make
a profound impact on the world.” St. Joe made me believe I
can do anything and nothing can stop me from reaching my
dreams ... I can confidently say that my experience embodied
the St. Joe mission. I have, 100 percent, grown in my faith,
knowledge, and respect for myself and for others.
... I willingly go to mass and love it. My relationship with
God has been strengthened tremendously ... My intellect
was challenged regularly ... I learned that each of us women
is important; we are a temple of God. I feel as though the
core values St. Joe teaches is what helped mold me into the
strong, values-driven woman leader I am today.
To Serve the Dear Neighbor without Distinction is not
only taught at St. Joseph’s Academy, but it is also taught by
the Sisters of St. Joseph. It is their motto that we follow, but
it is our responsibility to go out and serve. Service is a big
deal at St. Joe.

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March/April 2016 PNN

Sister Linda Markway and Mary Weiss

Each girl has a required amount of service hours to complete
before the school year is over. But the majority of students
go above and beyond in their work ... In grade school, I
thought service was hard work and tedious ... Just a few
years later at the Academy, I learned what service truly was.
I did not have to do anything immense to serve. It could
be as little as helping someone who tripped and dropped
all of her books. It could also go as big as a mission trip to
New Orleans. No matter what the size, a St. Joe Angel was
there to do it. I learned to love and to serve, and came to the
conclusion that I needed no recognition for my actions ...
Everything is for the greater glory of God. I do not need a
reward for something that should be a regular activity.
St. Joe changed me for the better. I have grown as a leader,
as a student, and as a woman. Without the teachers and
peers at the Academy, I would not be where I am today. The
Academy is the reason I am who I am.

St. Louis News

Seeing the Signs of Faith

St. Louis Billboard Campaign

from the Communicators for the St. Louis Catholic Sisters
St. Louis Catholic Sisters have launched a media campaign
across metropolitan St. Louis featuring billboards with the
message “We Have Faith in You, St. Louis.” The campaign,
which coincided with National Catholic Sisters Week,
March 8-14, is aimed at instilling pride in the community
and a desire to work for its betterment. The sisters, who for
generations have taught and shaped the character of so many
St. Louisans, know that St. Louis area residents are up to the
task of being more loving, less violent and better neighbors.
Sister Mary Flick, a native St. Louisan, says, “As Catholic
Sisters, we believe in a God who works through us in
surprising ways. The people of St. Louis have generous
hearts. Through our celebrations and our struggles, we
continue to see the good in each other and what is possible
together. We believe in a future full of hope.”
Randy Raley, director of mission relationship for the
Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, said the
sisters also would like the community to know they are here,
still vibrant, teaching, praying and having faith in them.
Director of Communications for the Daughters of Charity
Province of St. Louise, Belinda Davis, added, “More St.
Louis area residents of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds

have been served by sisters than many realize. Catholic
sisters may no longer teach in every parish school or care for
patients at every Catholic hospital, but they are alive, well
and still relevant. Today’s sisters minister to immigrants, the
homeless, the voiceless and the trafficked. They are the 21stcentury servants of Christ.”
How do we have faith in St. Louis? Read the many ways
our sisters from the St. Louis Catholic Sisters’ group answer
this question at stlcatholicsisters.org.
The St. Louis Catholic Sisters group is comprised of
the communicators of the following LCWR Region X
Communities:
Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Daughters of Charity of St.
Vincent de Paul, Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, Franciscan
Sisters of Mary, Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual
Help, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, School
Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of Divine Providence, Sisters
of Loretto, Sisters of Mercy of The Americas, Sisters of St.
Joseph of Carondelet, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters
of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Society of the Sacred
Heart and Ursuline Sisters of the Central Province.



March/April 2016 PNN

Page 17

Archives
Meeting Our Ancestors

Profile of an early sister who died
in the month of April
by Sister Jane Behlmann

Sister Mary Birgitta Gorman was,
figuratively speaking, a living history of
the congregation. Her sister, Sister
Teresa Agatha, preceded her in
death.

Her prayer life was inspiring and all were
included, the conservatives and the bornagain persons, and her example will
be long remembered. Sister died
on April 9, 1978. May she rest in
peace. [Necrology Report]

Sister's tall slender build belied the energy and force that
could show itself when challenged with some church
doctrine, or with some community discussion. She lived by
the principle that most of the ills in religious life could be
solved if only the rule of silence would be observed.

Page 18

March/April 2016 PNN

ma

G

or

Sister Mary Birgitta [Margaret
Mary] was born in Chicago,
Illinois to Mary Dwyer of
Chateaugay, New York, and
William Gorman of St. Clotilda,
Quebec, Canada on July 19,
1887. She entered at Carondelet
on September 5, 1910, was
received on March 19, 1911, and
made first profession on March
19, 1913. Her final profession was
made on August 15, 1918.

a

Sister Birgitta received a bachelor’s
degree
in history from Fontbonne College
rg
Bi
in 1934. She taught on the elementary level
ry
Ma
r
most
of her life in schools in St. Louis, Mobile,
e
t
S is
Alabama, Kansas City, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri,
Chicago, Illinois, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Sister was Mistress
of Postulants and Novices at Mt. St. Joseph in Augusta, Georgia
from 1934-1936. She died on April 9, 1978 at Alexian
Brothers Hospital in St. Louis of cerebral thrombosis. She is
buried in Resurrection Cemetery, Row 3, Grave 78.
itt

Never one to feel sorry for herself,
nor to miss her chance, she tried on
one occasion on her way to surgery to
instruct the girls who were taking her to
the operating room on the evils of abortion.

n

Sister Birgitta could relate the
happenings of the congregation
from Georgia to Chicago, from
Denver to Indianapolis, from
one superior general to the
next, from one "Holy Rule" to
the newest documents. She
had a phenomenal adherence
to the Holy Father's directives
from one pope to the next since
she enjoyed a long life of over 90
years.

The Hand of God Shall Hold You

Sister Margaret Mary Gregg, CSJ
(S. Margaret James)

May 29, 1940 - December 19, 2015
Faithful friend, clear thinker,
not afraid to speak her opinion, kind

Mary Madeline Gregg was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to
Ralph and Philomena (Aliperti) Gregg on May 29, 1940.
Mary Madeline could easily have missed her arrival on this
Earth. After many long hours in labor, her mother was dying
of toxic poisoning. The doctor told Ralph that if he removed
the dead baby, he might be able to save his wife. Hours later,
when he informed Ralph that he thought his wife would
make it, he forgot to mention that the baby was alive. It was
quite a surprise when some time later he returned to deliver
the news to Ralph that he had a daughter. Mother and
daughter’s survival was attributed to an experimental drug
called penicillin, a drug not widely in use until 1945.
During WWII, her dad was drafted. He returned home
physically unharmed but had become an alcoholic.
Eventually her parents divorced (they remarried in 1964).
Her mom worked as a bookkeeper to support her daughter
and herself. Mary met the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Rita’s
Parish where she attended school from kindergarten
through fifth grade. She and her mom moved in with an
aunt in Holy Ghost Parish for the rest of her elementary
school years and then Mary enrolled in Aquinas High
School. However the buildings had not yet been built so
the freshmen students’ classes were in a make-shift set-up
in what was formerly Sacred Heart Elementary School.
Moving into the new buildings the next year fell through
when the campus wasn’t ready. Mary ended up going to
Mercy High School.
She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 15,
1958, and was received as Sister Margaret James in March
1959. Her bachelor’s degree in elementary education was
awarded from Fontbonne College, St. Louis, 1963. She
received a master's degree in special education from Ball
State University, Muncie, Indiana, 1973.

S. Margaret’s first teaching assignment was at St. Peter
Grade School, Marquette, Michigan, 1963. Sister Margaret
returned to Missouri to teach at Holy Guardian Angels
(1967), and at Nativity of Our Lord (1968). In 1973, she
was appointed principal and director of education at the
Village of St. Joseph, Atlanta, Georgia. Then, in 1977, Sister
Margaret was invited to participate in a new Jesuit Living
and Learning Program. She served as a teacher, national
coordinator (1979), and national field director (1980).
Following a sabbatical at Weston School of Theology in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, S. Margaret was appointed
executive director at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf in
University City, Missouri (1985). In 1989, she became
principal at St. Joseph's Home for Boys in St. Louis. Sister
Rose Stephen Cento was with S. Margaret there. S. Rose
remembers her often telling the boys, "I say what I mean and
I mean what I say,” yet also describes her as “always firm, but
kind.”
Responding to a call to serve in a different capacity,
S. Margaret became the president/executive director at
Concern for the Poor, Inc. in San Jose, California (1992).
In 2000 she was the homeless service coordinator for Santa
Clara County, and, in 2007, coordinator of church relations
at Family Support Housing. She was passionate about
helping the poor: “We have to even out the economy. Every
single person has to have basic needs met, food, shelter,
clothing. They can’t be worried about it every minute of the
day.”
S. Margaret returned to St. Louis in 2012 where she worked
at Nazareth Living Center as Community Life bookkeeper
until illness intervened. She fought her cancer in the way she
lived her life, with humor, dignity and courage.

S. Helen Oates


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 19

The Hand of God Shall Hold You

Sister Margaret Camper, CSJ
(S. Sarita Clare)

June 23, 1922 - December 21, 2015
Loved teaching, loved to tease,
a joy-filled thoughtful woman

Myron and Jennie (Toney) Camper, both Lebanese, had
immigrated to America in their early teen years. They didn’t
meet one another until years later when Myron moved to
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where Jennie had settled. They
married, welcomed four sons, and were living in Green Bay,
when their first daughter, Margaret, arrived on June 23,
1922. (Four years later, another daughter, Lorraine, arrived.)
Margaret’s family moved to West De Pere where her father
opened an ice cream parlor. Her elementary education
was at the local public school. By the time she was ready
for high school, the family had moved back to Green Bay
where Margaret attended St. Joseph Academy. She recalled
her Academy years as happy ones and remembers writing
a gossip column, Camper’s Capers, for the school paper.
That sometimes got her called to the principal’s office when
parents became incensed about something written about
their daughters. She didn’t remember being in too much
trouble over it. Of the sisters, she said, “We found them to
be very refreshing human beings, but at the same time we
saw them, clearly, as religious women.”
Her parents, expecting her to go to college, were shocked
when she told them she wanted to enter the convent.
Assuring them that she would come home if she decided
that the life was not for her, they gave their consent. She
entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 15, 1940, and
was received as Sister Sarita Clare. She earned her bachelor’s
degree in English from Fontbonne College (1951) and a
master's in English from Marquette University (1960).
S. Sarita Clare was a primary teacher in St. Louis at Nativity
of Our Lord School (1943); St. Roch School (1948) and
at St. Anthony of Padua School (1951). She ministered
as a high school English teacher at Sacred Heart Central,
Indianapolis, Indiana (1954); St. Francis de Sales, Denver,

Page 20

March/April 2016 PNN

Colorado (1955), and St. Pius X, Atlanta, Georgia, where
she also served as the head of the English department
(1962). Then she taught English at Fontbonne College from
1965 to 1989.
Retiring from Fontbonne, S. Margaret became circulation
department head at the Kirkwood Public Library (1989). In
1995, she volunteered as a tutor at Even Start. In 2003, she
volunteered to assist the Community Life Staff at Nazareth
Living Center until beginning her ministry of prayer and
presence at Nazareth Living Center in 2011.
Sister Margaret was a member of Sectional 8 ... We often shared
table discussions, and I found her to be very open and generous
of heart. She was kind and thoughtful in her interactions, often
finding ways to disagree while maintaining harmony ... I dearly
loved being with S. Margaret ... Associate Cathy Hart
... I was missioned to St. Anthony of Padua all-boys school to
teach second grade in 1951. How fortunate I was to find there
one of the most outstanding primary teachers of the time ...
Sister Sarita Clare. Sarita was generous with her assistance to
us as we struggled to find our way through those first years of
teaching. She was also a barrel of fun! Sister Paulette Gladis
Because I had the joy—and I do mean joy—of living with
S. Margaret in the little house (St. Agnes at the time; later the
president's residence) I did not want to let the opportunity of
writing a little about her to pass by. Margaret loved teaching
English and taught conscientiously. She talked about her subject
in lively terms ... No doubt she made her subject come alive for
her students at Fontbonne ... She could tease with a truly straight
face and she could enjoy another's being confused about whether
or not she was telling the truth. Sister Ida Berresheim
S. Helen Oates

The Hand of God Shall Hold You

Sister Rose Mary Willett, CSJ
(S. Marie Francis)

June 29, 1929 - December 27, 2015
Conscientious, enjoyed telling stories,
loved to travel, a beautiful smile

Francis and Eva Marie (Wheeler) Willett welcomed their
daughter Rose Mary on June 29, 1929, in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. She grew up with three older brothers and a
younger sister. While she was still a young child, her parents
moved to Hannibal, Missouri. For her entire grade/high
school years she attended McCooey Memorial staffed by the
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

During a 1984 sabbatical program, S. Rose Mary was a
student at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. She
spent this time auditing theology courses, catching up on the
changes since Vatican II and sightseeing. Registrar and parttime teacher at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis filled her
next six years until she became secretary at DuBourg House
in 1991.

After high school, Rose Mary worked in an office for two
years then entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September
15, 1949. At her March 1950 reception into the novitiate
she received the name Sister Marie Francis. She earned
a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the
College of St. Teresa in Kansas City (1956).

In 1992, S. Rose Mary was a development staff worker at
St. Joseph Provincial House. Then, from 1996 to 1999,
she was part-time receptionist at the Provincial House. At
the same time, she served at Nazareth Living Center as the
transportation coordinator until her retirement in 2003 at
St. Joseph Academy.

St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Louis (1952) was S. Rose
Mary’s first mission. Her next assignment (1953) was to
be a full-time business student at the College of St. Teresa
in Kansas City. Before she could start her studies, an
unexpected community need arose so she was reassigned to
teach at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kansas City, and
then at St. Francis de Sales High School, Denver, Colorado.
In June 1954 she began full-time studies at the College of
St. Teresa. In 1955, before her studies were completed,
Sister Rose Mary was assigned to fill yet another need, this
time at Assumption Grade School in Kansas City. During
that school year and the following summer, she completed
the requirements for her degree in business administration.

Sister Ida Berresheim lived with her briefly at the Academy:
I can't help delighting in that picture of her [above] in which
she is smiling so joyfully. I can just about hear her laugh as
I'm sure she was doing as the photographer tried to take
that picture. Rose Mary loved to tell stories and they were
usually funny and she would laugh while telling them. In so
doing she would have all of us, her hearers, laughing. In so
many ways she spread that joy!”

The 1956 school year brought her to Marquette, Michigan,
to teach at Bishop Baraga High, followed by Valle High
School in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in 1962. Beginning
in 1963, Sister Rose Mary taught at Avila College for the
next ten years. During that time she earned a master's in
economics from the University of Notre Dame (1964).
S. Rose Mary was a secretary at the St. Joseph Provincialate
from 1973 to 1984.

Sister Rita Louise Huebner also lived with S. Rose Mary at
the Academy:
She was our bookkeeper. In that capacity she was always
conscientious and faithful to all of us who lived there. Rose
Mary loved to travel ... With her friend, S. Helene Wilson,
she toured the country, from the beautiful Northwest to
Arizona, Yellowstone to California ... She also appreciated
her and Helene's many excursions to Lone Elk Park where
they always counted on an exciting adventure.
In 2013, S. Rose Mary moved to Nazareth Living Center
continuing to volunteer by trimming donated stamps to raise
funds for CSJ missions.
S. Helen Oates


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 21

The Hand of God Shall Hold You

Karen Cox, CSJA

July 10, 1957 - January 10, 2016
Warm, kind-hearted with the gift of hospitality

Avila University’s family and her Sisters of St. Joseph
associates were shocked when the news that Associate
Karen Cox died on January 10 at the young age of 58. Karen
collapsed at her home while watching a Sunday football
game with her husband, Dean, in their new home in Fort
Worth, Texas. All who knew Karen and her family members
lost an Irish jewel in the crown.
Karen was born to a large Irish Bundy/Donovan family
on July 10, 1957, in Joplin, Missouri, and was raised in
Kansas City. Karen’s father, Jack Bundy, and mother, Gladys
Donovan, had 11 children; Karen was in the middle with
five older siblings and five younger ones who were deeply
rooted in the Irish traditions.
She graduated from Center High School in 1975 and
married her husband, Dean, on June 17, 1978. Dean and
Karen had two lovely children, daughter Jamie and son
Jeremy. This wonderful lady became grandmother of three
granddaughters and one grandson, with the Christmas news
that a fifth infant was on its way.
In 2001, Karen became an administrative assistant for
Clinical & Field-Based Experiences at Avila University
School of Education in Kansas City. She left Avila in
January 2015 to join her husband who had been transferred
to Fort Worth, Texas. Professor Karen Garber-Miller, Dean
of School of Education, said of Karen:
Karen will long be remembered as a warm and kindhearted supporter of our students. We often received
accolades about her positive and friendly demeanor to all.
Because Karen was blessed with the gift of hospitality, she
was selected by School of Education faculty and staff to
serve as our ‘hospitality liaison’ to internal and external
audiences. She helped us reach out to students and faculty
in times of illness or need as well as in times of joy and
celebration.

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March/April 2016 PNN

Karen certainly lived up to Avila University’s motto: Deo
adjuvante non timendum, “With the help of God there is
nothing to fear.” At the end of Karen’s e-mails, one could
read her favorite quote, “In order to succeed, your desire for
success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
Gathered at the back corridor of the St. Thomas More
Church in Kansas City, the members of the Avila-Mère
Fontbonne CSJA Community shared their grief together
as they remembered how Karen had lived out her Initial
Commitment Statement to the Sisters of St. Joseph in 2012.
I, Karen M. Cox, desire to make this commitment to the
Sisters of St. Joseph and their associates because I have
always been deeply touched by the spirit and charism that
the sisters show daily to those around them. Becoming an
associate has already deepened and strengthened my faith
and desire to serve one another... I am looking forward to
serving our community and our world with the volunteer
work that I have set out to do and pray that my actions and
spirit will serve as a ministry to others.
Yes, Karen did live out the best of the sisters’ Consensus
Statement, “… moves always toward profound love of God
and love of neighbor … from whom she does not separate
herself...”
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade will not seem the same without
the loving smile and kindness of Karen Bundy/Donovan
Cox this March. But, we have the knowledge that St. Patrick
must have greeted you, Karen, at the gate while God rejoiced
upon seeing your soul and spirit.
by Associate Nicole Nicoll

The Hand of God Shall Hold You

Sister Mary Annette
Schorman, CSJ

August 30, 1931 - January 31, 2016
Hospitable, gracious, a hard worker, a loyal friend

Mary Cecilia was born on August 31, 1931, in St. Louis,
Missouri, the fifth child and second daughter, of parents
Joseph and Anne (Cloonan) Schorman. She attended
St. Edward’s Grade School and began high school at RosatiKain. The school was so overcrowded her first year that
students who lived north of a certain street were sent to
Laboure for their sophomore year. She was able to return to
Rosati for her junior and senior years. Deciding that college
was not for her, she spent most of the next six years in
various employments such as bookkeeper in a dental office;
typist for the government, and office work at the Missouri
Pacific Credit Union.
Over the years, she kept in contact with Sister Bertina
Leneau whom she had met in grade school. She used to
visit her, even traveling to Chicago to do so. While she was
visiting with Sister after she had broken off a marriage
engagement, Bertina asked her, “When are you going to do
something with your life?” That question really made her
stop and think. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on
February 11, 1955, and was given the habit and her name,
Sister Mary Annette, August 15, 1955. She earned her
bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Fontbonne
College in 1967.
In the meantime, S. Mary Annette began teaching in St.
Louis, Missouri at Nativity of Our Lord (1957); St. Vincent
de Paul (1965), St. Margaret of Scotland (1966), and Holy
Guardian Angels (1973). Her ministry began to shift in
1978 when she went to Keshena, Wisconsin, where she
served at St. Michael Parish as a religious education teacher.
Remaining in that parish, she became a pastoral associate
there in 1980.
I lived with Sister Annette in Keshena, on the Menominee
Reservation. I remember her doing a wide variety of parish
work, the CCD program, visiting the sick and elderly,
bringing Communion to homes of shut-ins, making very
good friends among the Menominee people ... And she loved
to go fishing!” S. Connie Gleason

In 1988, she arrived in Kansas City, her hometown for
the next 28 years. After a year as assistant manager at
Redemptorist Residence, she became the geriatric manager
there until 1999. Following some time in transition, S. Mary
Annette served as the first director of home service for CSJ
Care Kansas City. “She truly lived our stance of loving the
dear neighbor without distinction,” says Sister Ann Landers.
Although Sister Annette retired in 2006, S. Marilyn Peot
said in the funeral homily:
Her home was open as a wayside inn for those from out of
town—or as a rehab center for those who needed extra care.
She was the hostess of KC—as she created special times
with individuals and initiated group gatherings ... we are all
aware of her eagerness to meet the smallest needs of those
who came into her life.
Sister Roberta Houlihan says:
I felt so at home with her ... She will always remain close to
me in prayer and memory.
Sister Laverne Aufmuth says:
In her golden years [I]found her to be quiet and private,
very loyal to her God and religious community, devoted to
family… [She] freely responded to others’ personal needs ...
[I am] grateful for the time I enjoyed her presence.
Sister Rosemary Flanigan says:
About a year ago, several of us asked Sister Marilyn Peot if
she would lead us in ways of deepening our prayer life ...
S. Annette offered her apartment … each month we have
met at her place and enjoyed her hospitality as we probed
more deeply into contemplative prayer. In the sharing of the
heart, I have felt closer to Annette than in all the years I've
known her. May she be enjoying peace that we cannot even
imagine.
S. Helen Oates



March/April 2016 PNN

Page 23

CSJ BOOK CLUB
Community: The Structure of Belonging
By Peter Block

by Associate Nancy Broach on behalf of Matrix
We found this book both affirming and
challenging—affirming of some things our
CSJ Community is already doing to foster
community and challenging us to ways to
improve our being together as community.
Foundational to community is fostering among
all members a sense of ownership and belonging.
The structures for belonging can be implemented
regardless of personal style even if one is
introverted. The author puts an emphasis on gifts
and possibilities because sustainable community
transformation is built on assets and gifts not on
needs or deficiencies.
Improvement in community occurs when people
recognize their own power to create. Possibility
is the condition we want to occur in the world.
We become complete with the past so that our
being and action are no longer shaped by the
past. Bringing aliveness and wholeness to our
ideas of leadership, citizens, social structures and
context are essential to creating a community of
belonging.

Here are a few other important points for
creating structures or conditions that create
a community of belonging. Leaders are held
to three tasks: to shift the context within
which people gather; name the debate through
powerful questions; and listen rather than
advocate, defend, or provide answers. The small
group is the unit of transformation and has the
most leverage when they meet as part of a larger
gathering. We come together to experience how
relatedness, gifts, learning, and generosity are
valuable to community. This is an organic and
relational process that creates a structure of
belonging.
If desired, one can get all the important points
of the book without reading the entire text.
The author does this on purpose by putting a
summary at the beginning of each chapter; and
he summarizes the entire book in outline form at
the end. It is well worth reading whether in the
short version or in its entirety.

Between the World and Me
By Ta-Nehisi Coates

By Sister Nancy Corcoran
Between the World and Me is a New York Times
Best Seller and the winner of the National
Book Award. It is not often that I finish a book
and want to shout from the mountain top the
words of Toni Morrison, “This book is required
reading.”
Required by whom? Required for all of us who
want to become fully human, who think that
we are white, who understand that racism is in
the water we drink and the air we breathe. It is
a narrative to pry open our hearts, to feel on a
Page 24

March/April 2016 PNN

guttural level the Ferguson Effect.
Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a meditation from
his lived experience … a letter of memory, of
warning and of hope to his teenage son.
It is a short book, only 150 pages. Yet it is not
a fast read. It offers a retreat. It offers a deep
perspective. It offers a reality check to those of us
who bask in unacknowledged privilege and who
aim to “love G*d and our neighbor from whom
we do not separate ourselves.”

“Exploring Our Soul Energy”

presented by Sister Carol Patron
by Sister Helen Oates

In 1987, after 23 years as a teacher and principal, Sister
Carol Patron went on sabbatical. It was during this time she
developed a passion for the mind-body-spirit connection.
That led her to become a certified massage therapist and a
prayer and ritual team member. This teacher also became
a “student” of spirituality, exploring the similarities of our
Catholic faith through various lenses such as the CSJs,
Creation, Earth and Native American spiriualities.
S. Carol’s invitation to the February 27 “Exploring Our
Soul Energy” program said: “God freely makes available to
us an abundance of grace. How do we access his pathway of
unending blessings and how is grace part of our mind, body,
spirit connections? “
And so, she invited us to “explore what animates our soul
and makes us each unique expressions of the Divine.”
Through a process of music, prayer, humor, stories,
informed input, and discussion S. Carol began to acquaint
(or reacquaint) us with the energy centers of our body, the
seven chakras.
“Chakra” is an Indian word for wheel, and a spinning wheel
is an easy way of envisioning the energy of the chakra.
These chakras help us to know our aliveness. Just as we see
and experience energy such as sun, thunder and lightning
and realize that all of them transmit energy, so too, can
the networks that support our body be physically seen and
experienced.

We are energetic beings. We need energy to survive and
thrive, and we know when we do not have energy. In our
experiences and interactions our energy mingles with that of
others and we are changed.
How we share our soul’s energy with others affects these
interactions. When we are able to connect with our own soul
energy we feel at home with ourselves. Then we are open to
find God in our deepest self and will find nourishment for
our spiritual energy.
The body’s energy centers may speak to each of us through
lightness or heaviness. We are most aware of this in our
choices which we make through faith—or fear. This
lightness or heaviness experience could become spiritual
directors in our prayer—a guide towards choosing grace, for
as S. Carol remarked, “Grace is God’s energy.”
We could also use our energy to hold on to past traumatic
events, things that hurt us. This keeps us locked in the
past where we might find ourselves experiencing a spiritual
loneliness that blocks us from good energy. Remember that
good energy (grace) helps us to know God for God is the
energy of our existence.
S. Carol recommends reading, Anatomy of the Spirit, by
Caroline Myss, Ph.D. to learn more about these energy
centers. The book examines where they are located in the
body; what each does for us; how they can be represented
by colors; how they are connected to sacraments, religious
seasons and events; how they can be effective in our lives;
and how they can help us to be our best selves, aware of the
energy for good circulating in and among us.



March/April 2016 PNN

Page 25

CSJ EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
LITURGY CALENDAR
April
2
6
13
20
27

Ilia Delio, OSF
Midday Prayer 11:45 a.m.
Midday Prayer 11:45 a.m.
Morning of Prayer 9 a.m.
Midday Prayer 11:45 a.m.

May
7
60th Jubilee Mass 10:00 a.m.
4
Midday Prayer 11:45 a.m.
11
Midday Prayer 11:45 a.m.
16
Missouri Choral Society
Concert 2 p.m.
18
Midday Prayer 11:45 a.m.
21-27 Heritage Retreat

Together We Gather

by Associate Mary Kay Christian, province liturgist
February was a month full of activity in our chapel beginning with the
February 7 annual Mardi Gras Mass and ongoing commitment with the
associate community. That afternoon we hosted “We’ve Come This Far by
Faith,” a celebration in honor of Black History Month and the contributions of
black Catholics in St. Louis, to begin the 2016 Together in Faith event series.
On Feb. 20, we enjoyed a morning of prayer and reflection with Sister Kathy
Brazda, CSJ from LaGrange, who gave a spiritual reflection of her pilgrimage
on the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage to the site of the shrine of
the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
We began the month of March with “A Lenten Contemplation” concert
performed by Terree Rowbottom, a wonderful mezzo-soprano, accompanied
by Elizabeth Ramos on violin, and Bonnie Wilson on piano and the glass
armonica. This event was also a part of the Together in Faith event series.

FILM SCREENING & PANEL DISCUSSION
WHAT IS RADICAL GRACE AND HOW ARE WE CALLED TO EMBODY IT?

MAY 1ST | 2 PM - 4:30 PM
@ ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY | AUDITORIUM
2307 SOUTH LINDBERGH BLVD. | FRONTENAC, MO 63131

MORE INFORMATION AND FREE TICKETS AT

RADICALGRACESTL.EVENTBRITE.COM
Page 26

March/April 2016 PNN

SAVE THE DATES

HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
21ST CENTURY SLAVERY

Monday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m.
St. Joseph Hall
Sister Margaret Nacke, CSJ
(Concordia) will present an overview
of human trafficking, who is involved,
how one “buys” people, and how we
can join the good works being done
to stop this modern slavery.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

RSVP by April 4 to 314-481-8800 or
[email protected].
Sponsored by the CSJ Justice Office

See page 15 to learn more about our honorees,
Kathleen E. Murphy & Ann Rotermund.
Visit csjsl.org for more event details.

SPRING CONCERT

Saturday, April 23 at 2:30 p.m.
Holy Family Chapel
Enjoy the musical sounds of the
MCS who join us from St. Charles.
Members of the choral society
are seasoned choral musicians and
volunteers. Free admission.
Learn more about the ensemble at
www.missourichoralsociety.com.
RSVP to 314-481-8800 or
[email protected].

KANSAS CITY
APRIL 16

ST. LOUIS
APRIL 30

CSJ Spirit & Spirituality:
What Keeps Our Feet in the Street
with Marianne Keena, CSJ

Live Until You Die:
Aging and Caregiving
with Pat Dunphy, CSJ &
Kathleen Karbowski, CSJ

9-11 a.m.
St. Teresa’s Academy,
Windmoor Center

9-11 a.m.
Carondelet Motherhouse

Offering: $15

Offering: $16

Visit csjsl.org to register for tickets and
more information.

Register by Feb. 22 to 314-678-0307
or [email protected].

LEARN MORE AND VIEW OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS AT CSJSL.ORG.


March/April 2016 PNN

Page 27

LEADERSHIP CALENDAR
April
2
3
4
4-6

7-10
7
11-12
13
14
14-15
16
18
19
22
23
26-5/4


Ilia Delio, OSF (All)
Process Design Team Mtg: Phase 1B (All)
Committee on Health & Wellness (MML, ML)
Heartland Federation Mtg., St. Louis
(MF, ML, RS, LS)
LCWR New Leader Workshop (MML, LS)
Motherhouse Study Task Force (RS)
Council/Corporation Board Mtgs. (All)
Dept. Head Mtg. (ML, MML, RS, LS)
LCWR Breakfast (LS)
Tabitha Selection Committee Mtg. (MF)
Marian School Gala (ML, RS, LS)
Agenda Committee Mtg. (MF, LS)
Sponsorship Collaborative, STA (ML, MML, RS, LS)
Mission Advancement Gala (ML, MML, RS, LS)
Government Committee Mtg. (LS)
Retreat (RS)

29
30
30


Mission Integration Committee, Fontbonne (MML)
Fontbonne Board Mtg. (MML)
Microfinancing Partners in Africa Gala
(MML, ML, LS)

May
7
9-10
11
11
12
13-14
17
20
23
27

60th Jubilee Celebration (ML, MML, RS)
Council/Corporation Board Mtgs. (All)
STA Board Mtg. (ML)
NLC Ministry Committee Mtg. (LS)
LCWR Breakfast (LS)
Avila Board Mtg. (RS)
Investment Managers Mtg. (All)
Nazareth Spring Party (All)
Motherhouse Study Task Force (RS)
CPC Mtg. (All)

“Say Cheese!” with #Flat Fontbonne
CSJ Congregation’s Social Media Campaign

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
and associates live, minister and
travel in all corners of the world. To
help us see just how far we reach,
we've recruited an old friend of
ours.

snap a selfie with her, then send it
to us for our #FlatFontbonne photo
collection.

Mother St. John Fontbonne is a
guiding light for our sisters, so it's
fitting to take her on some of our
travels. Flat Fontbonne is inspired by
the Flat Stanley children's books.

Or share it with us on Facebook,
Twitter or Instagram. Be sure to use
the hashtag #FlatFontbonne, so we
can find it!

You can email it to

[email protected]

The idea is simple. Download Flat
Fontbonne, print her, cut her out,
and pack her in your bag. When
you see a picturesque opportunity,

NEXT ISSUE: May/June PNN & Directory Changes
Submission Deadline: May 10 • Publication Date: June 1
For a complete PNN schedule, visit Members Only at www.csjsl.org.

Page 28

March/April 2016 PNN

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