The Passionist Nuns of St. Joseph Monastery (Whitesville, Ky.) in an October 2022 community photo. Front row (seated): Sr. Mary Veronica McKimmy, Sr. Cecilia Maria Wynn, Mother John Mary Read, Sr. Mary Magdalen Wurth. Second row: Kristin Marie Abbate (aspirant), Sr. Frances Marie Wenke, Sr. Maria Faustina Carmichael, Sr. Mary Agnes Higgs, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Sauer, Emma DeLong (aspirant). Back row: Christie Swanson (affliate), Hannah Bland (postulant), Sr. Miriam Esther Krauskopf, Sr. Mary Andrea Niehaus, Sr. Mary Therese Seitz, Holly Vietas (now a postulant). Not pictured: Mother Catherine Marie Schuhmann and Elizabeth Mahoney (aspirant). COURTESY OF PASSIONIST NUNS
Called to serve: An overview of women religious in the diocese
BY WKC STAFF
Editor’s note: Since the beginning of the Diocese of Owensboro, women religious have played a significant role in spreading the Good News and building up the Catholic Church through their ministries of prayer, sacrifice and service. In honor of Catholic Sisters Week (March 8-14), The Western Kentucky Catholic is printing an overview of all communities of women religious currently serving in the diocese. To learn more about vocations within the diocese, visit owensborodiocese.org/vocations.
Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus
Motherhouse: 10341 Manchester Road, Kirkwood, Missouri 63122
Impelled by our love for the Divine Heart of Jesus in the spirit and zeal of the Carmelites of old, we seek to win all souls for Christ by our contemplative and apostolic works of charity. Learn more at www.carmelitedcj.org.
Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy
Motherhouse: 109-26 130th Street, South Ozone Park, Queens, New York 11420
The Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy (DMMM) congregation is an Institute of Apostolic religious life with a Pontifical Right, whose members take the three evangelical vows of Obedience, Poverty, and Chastity. Our Charism is to bear witness to the Mercy of God by following the footsteps of Christ, the Merciful Savior, and that of Mary, the Mother of Mercy. This Mercy is expressed as Compassion, Forgiveness and Kindness. Learn more at www.dmmmsisters-usa.org/index.htm.
The Home Mission Sisters of America, also known as the Glenmary Sisters, are based in Owensboro. Left to right: Sr. Aida Badillo Lorenzo, Sr. Kathleen Mulchrone, Sr. Catherine Schoenborn, Sr. Darlene Presley, and Sr. Patricia Leighton. COURTESY OF GLENMARY SISTERS
Home Mission Sisters of America
Motherhouse: 405 W. Parrish Avenue, Owensboro, Kentucky 42301
The Glenmary Sisters are a community of Catholic Sisters who live and minister in the midst of the people we serve. Our presence and ministry are special in that we may be the first Catholics the people have ever met. Through our compassionate outreach we want all to realize that God’s presence is everywhere. Learn more at https://glenmarysisters.org.
Misioneras del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus ad Gentes
Motherhouse: Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez #109 Oriente, Huamantla Tlaxca, Mexico CP 90500
The Misioneras del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus ad Gentes were founded to announce the Gospel in nations that do not know Christ and to preserve it in those that do know Him. Learn more at http://adgenteshuamantla.blogspot.com.
Passionist Nuns
Convent: 8564 Crisp Rd., Whitesville, KY 42378-9782
Within the Church, the Passionist Nuns are called to be a sign of the love of Jesus Crucified for the Father and for mankind. By their unceasing contemplation of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love, they are certain of contributing to the fullness of the Church’s presence to mankind… Convinced of the absolute necessity of God’s grace for the fruitfulness of the apostolate, they offer their unceasing prayer and joyful penance that God send zealous workers into His harvest, convert sinners and open the minds of non-Christians to hear the Gospel…The Passionist Nuns seek to imitate Mary who devoted herself totally to the Person and work of her Son, serving the mystery of redemption. Learn more at www.passionistnuns.org.
School Sisters of Notre Dame
Motherhouse: 320 E. Ripa Ave., St. Louis, MO 63125
The School Sisters of Notre Dame are members of an international congregation of women religious founded by Blessed Theresa Gerhardinger in Bavaria in 1833. Their mission is to proclaim the good news, directing our entire lives toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent for which God calls all. As Jesus was sent to show God’s love to the world, we are sent to make Christ, to make God, visible by our very being, by sharing our love, faith, and hope. Learn more at www.ssndcentralpacific.org.
Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Glasgow, Scotland, Nigeria Province
Motherhouse: 90 Saracen Street, Glasgow, G22 5AD, Scotland
As Sisters in the Franciscan penitential tradition, we commit ourselves to live out our public profession of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience, in community ever striving for a fuller expression of our baptismal call to conversion. As members we strive to dedicate ourselves to a life of mission and evangelization as we seek new and different ways to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Learn more at https://franciscan-sisters.org.uk/.
Sisters of Saint Francis of Tiffin, Ohio
Motherhouse: 200 St. Francis Avenue, Tiffin, Ohio 44883
Originally founded after the Civil War to care for orphans and the elderly, the Sisters of St. Francis today serve in a variety of ministries including care of the elderly, parish ministry, health care, education, retreat work, home mission outreach, and ministry in our foreign mission in Chiapas and Cuernavaca, Mexico. Never large in number but always vibrant in spirit, the Sisters of St. Francis continue to minister to the needs of the Church, discerning the needs of the times and the gifts they bring to the people of God. Learn more at www.tiffinfranciscans.org.
Sisters of the Lamb of God
Our vocation is a consent–active and personal–to follow Jesus Christ, SERVANT, who came to free his people. We commit ourselves to his way of servant. We learn from him because he is meek and humble of heart. Witnesses of the Lamb of God, this is our mission.
Several Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph (Maple Mount, Ky.) gathered at a celebration Mass for Sister Rosanne Spalding’s 60th jubilee of religious life at Precious Blood Parish, Owensboro, in August 2021. Pictured, left to right: Sisters Betsy Moyer, Ann McGrew, Amelia Stenger, Laurita Spalding (Sister Rosanne’s sister), Rosanne, Monica Seaton, Margaret Ann Aull, Judith Nell Riney, Cheryl Clemons, Barbara Jean Head, Suzanne Sims, Nancy Murphy, Julia Head and Mary Timothy Bland. COURTESY OF MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH
Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph
Motherhouse: 8001 Cummings Road, Owensboro KY 42301
We, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, sustained by prayer and vowed life in community, proclaim Jesus through education and Christian formation in the spirit of our founder, St. Angela Merici. Learn more at https://ursulinesmsj.org.
Originally printed in the March 2023 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
