BVM Sister celebrates diamond jubilee

A Sister of Charity, BVM with ties to the Diocese of Helena will celebrate 75 years in religious life this fall.

Sister Mary Ann Shea (Agnes Corneille) taught music at St John in Butte, 1937-40, 1943-47; St Anthony in Missoula, 1956-58; and Immaculate Conception in Butte, 1964-69.

She entered the BVM congregation on Sept. 8, 1934. She professed first vows on March 19, 1937 and final vows on Aug. 15, 1942.

She is among five diamond jubilarians who will gather in the Mount Carmel Motherhouse Chapel in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sept. 13 for a Liturgy of thanksgiving. To sign the online guestbook or to donate to the BVM congregation on behalf of Sister Mary Ann, please go to www.bvmcong.org.

Greetings also may be sent to Sister Mary Ann at 1130 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003-7911.

Sister Abbie Kennedy marks 60th jubilee

For 60 years, Sister Abbie Kennedy has been a member of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aberdeen, S.D. She celebrated this milestone with relatives and friends at a Mass and reception July 7, 2009, in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Presentation Heights, Aberdeen.

Sister Kennedy was born in Ekalaka, Mont., to Rose (Winchell) and Wilfred Kennedy. She entered Presentation Convent in August 1968.

She attended Presentation College, Aberdeen, S.D., and received a bachelor’s degree in education from Northern State College (University), Aberdeen.

For over 30 years, Sister was an educator in elementary schools in South Dakota and Montana.

In 1984, she began parish ministry, following it with ministry at Nano Nagle Inn, a guest house for Avera McKennan patients and their families. In 2004 she returned to Aberdeen and currently volunteers at the Avera St. Luke’s Auxiliary Guest House.

“Being a Presentation Sister has always seemed just right for me,” she said.

She shares the story of her first year of teaching, when a student asked if she got to choose where she went to teach. At that time the decision was made by the mother superior, so she told the student that she did not decide.

His reply was, “Weren’t you lucky this year!” Kennedy explains that she has always felt lucky in her 60 years of religious life.

Two Sisters of Mercy celebrate 110 years of service

Two Sisters of Mercy who once served in the Diocese of Helena recently celebrated milestone anniversaries.

Sister Theresa Ann Spitz, RSM, marked 60 years as a Sister of Mercy. She spent most of her ministry life as a teacher, including six years at St. Matthew’s School in Kalispell. For the past 29 years, Sister Theresa Ann has served St. Joseph’s School and Parish in DeWitt, Iowa, as a teacher, parish worker and pastoral minister.

Sister Emily (Noreen) Devine, RSM, also celebrated 50 years as a Sister of Mercy. Sister Emily served as the director of housekeeping and laundry at Kalispell General Hospital from 1972 to 1974.

After her time there, Sister Emily traveled to the Twin Cities in Minnesota where she worked in housekeeping at Methodist Hospital, studied at Metropolitan State University and then practiced pastoral work at St. Mary’s Hospital and Holy Trinity Parish.

Sister Emily continued her ministry in pastoral care serving in Fort Scott, Kan.; and Ames, Iowa City and Mason City, Iowa. She retired from pastoral ministry in 2007 and continues to serve the people in the Mason City area through spiritual direction and as a volunteer.

The two Sisters commemorated their years as Sisters of Mercy on June 14 with a Mass at the Chapel of Mercy at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, followed by individual receptions in their honor.

BVM Sister celebrates golden jubilee

Sister M. Lynn Lester, BVM (Ann Joseph), a Butte native, celebrated her golden jubilee earlier this month.

She entered the Sisters of Charity congregation from Immaculate Conception Parish on Aug. 2, 1959. She attended Immaculate Conception Elementary School, 1946-55, and graduated from Girls’ Central High School, 1959.

Currently, she is an associate professor and director of assessment at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa.

Sister Lynn is the daughter of Joseph T. and Margaret (Torpy) Lester, also natives of Butte.

She is among 13 BVM golden jubilarians who gathered in the Mount Carmel Motherhouse Chapel in Dubuque, Iowa, on Aug. 2 for a Liturgy of thanksgiving.

To sign the online guestbook or to donate to the BVM congregation on behalf of Lynn Lester, BVM, please go to www.bvmcong.org.

Sister of Charity Clarann Weinert celebrates golden jubilee

“It is difficult to pinpoint my happiest memory,” Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Clarann Weinert said as she reflected on 50 years of religious life. “Being a member of the Congregation is the most important gift in my life.”

Sister Clarann said the “whispering in her heart” began as a student at Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio. However, she went on to nurses training at Dayton’s Good Samaritan Hospital, and it was there, after interacting with a number of Sisters of Charity, that she decided to enter religious life on Feb. 2, 1960.

Sister Clarann said each ministry opportunity throughout her 50 years had its own set of joys and challenges. She received her BSN from the College of Mount St. Joseph on the Ohio River and began her health care career as a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Mount Clemens, Mich., from 1965 until 1966. From there she served a variety of hospitals, including St. Mary-Corwin Hospital, Pueblo, Colo. (1966-’69); Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs, Colo., (1969- ’70); and St. Vincent Hospital, Santa Fe, N.M., (1970-’72).

“We had fabulous community experiences at St. Mary-Corwin with a large number of young sisters, and a caring hospital administrator, who encouraged us as sister health care professionals and modeled the richness of living as a Sister of Charity in loving relationships,” she said.

In 1974, Sister Clarann received a master’s in nursing from Ohio State University. In 1978, she earned a master’s degree in sociology, and in 1981, a Ph.D. in sociology, both from the University of Washington in Seattle. For the past 27 years, she has ministered as a faculty member and nurse scientist in the College of Nursing at Montana State University in Bozeman.

As she looks to the future, Sister Clarann said she hopes she “can continue to use my gifts of intellect and experience to help inform the direction of nursing science.”


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 25, No. 8, August 21, 2009.