A good way to thank retired priests, religious
The 2025 Easter Special Collection that will be taken up in parishes throughout the diocese will benefit retired priests and retired members of religious orders and congregations.
A special envelope for this collection is inserted in this issue of The Catholic Missourian. Online contributions can be made at: diojeffcity.org/donate-easter.
When Sister Ruth Ann Klauser was young, several older sisters in her congregation gave her clear advice on how to live like they were living.
She takes it all to heart now in her own season of retirement.
“To live one day at a time and to always be thankful for the many blessings that I have received,” she recounted.
“To be myself and to be thankful to God for all the gifts he has given to me. To not take life for granted, but to open my eyes and see the surprises and miracles that God shares with me daily and to help others do the same.”
Sixty years after entering religious life as a School Sister of Notre Dame (SSND), Sr. Ruth Ann — formerly an educator for nearly half a century, formerly a teacher and principal at Holy Family School in Hannibal, formerly principal of St. Brendan School in Mexico, formerly principal of Mary Immaculate School in Kirksville, formerly general secretary and archivist for the SSND International Generalate in Rome — no longer has an official title.
She’s simply a member of Mary Immaculate Parish in Kirksville.
A very active member.
She serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion on weekends at Mary Immaculate.
She’s part of the parish’s Ministry of Visitation, taking Holy Communion to people who are homebound or living in local nursing homes.
She has been a facilitator for several “Parishes as Communities of the Beatitudes” faith-sharing groups.
She participates in the monthly gatherings of Mary Immaculate’s Young at Heart group, where members enjoy social time, Mass, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, and a meal.
She joins a group of 12 or more women of the parish who pray the Rosary for peace and for other prayer intentions.
She recently joined Mary Immaculate’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) team, helping people who are entering full communion with the Church learn more about their faith.
“These activities enable me to stay in touch with the lives of many people, which helps me grow in love with them and with God,” said Sr. Ruth Ann.
She also represents the religious sisters in this diocese as a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council (DPC), which assists the bishop in his governance of the diocese.
Some days, she’s as busy in retirement as she was in full-time ministry.
“I’ve been blessed with good health,” she said. “So, the busier I am, the more persons I meet each day, the closer I feel to God.”
“God has blessed me abundantly throughout my life, and I want to share as many of those blessings as I can while I’m still able to do so each day,” she stated.
A time to sow
Sr. Ruth Ann dreams in color.
“I dream about a rainbow and how my life has so many times received a rainbow after a rainstorm,” she said. “This reminds me of God’s love and faithfulness to me throughout my life, and how many blessings he continues to shower on me.”
She grew up on a farm in Quincy, Illinois, and attended Catholic grade school and high school taught by the SSNDs.
Her parents were strong Catholics who instilled a deep faith and love for God and service to others throughout her early life.
Working on the farm and out in the fresh air helped her maintain great health. She never missed a day of school through all of her grade school and high school years.
“That aspect of good health was a drawing card to becoming a sister,” she said.
Sr. Ruth Ann worked as a bookkeeper for six months after high school before entering religious life as an SSND on Jan. 2, 1965.
“Religious life is a special call from God to a woman who desires to love God and to serve his people,” she said. “A person who wants to live her life to someday be a saint and to help others become saints.”
The bulk of Sr. Ruth Ann’s ministry has been as an educator, serving in Catholic schools as a teacher and principal for nearly 50 years.
She was the principal of Mary Immaculate School when she got summoned to be the General Secretary and Archivist at the SSND International Congregation’s Generalate in Rome.
She returned to Kirksville after eight years in Rome, and officially retired.
She said the SSND congregation has consistently trusted her and her gifts throughout these past 60 years.
“They have encouraged me and challenged me to listen to my God and to follow his call,” she said.
She’s convinced that all religious sisters, regardless of which order or congregation they belong to have a true love for God and his people.
“They value prayer and openness to recognize the many surprises and miracles that God puts in their daily lives,” she said.
“The fun stuff”
Fifty-five years after priestly ordination and nearly five years into retirement, Father Gerald Kaimann still treasures his health and a vibrant ministry.
“I don’t have any grandkids to chase around!” he noted. “I wanted to stay in ministry, being here at the rectory, there’s always lots of things going on, and I like to be around people.”
Fr. Kaimann lives in the St. Joseph Rectory in Palmyra and offers the Mass and the Sacraments. The parish provides him with room and board.
“When you’re retired, the big thing is, you don’t have to do the administration,” said Fr. Kaimann. “The planning and administration are really what take the most time. I mean, if you’re going to help a parish to progress and really grow, you have to plan and really work at it.”
He said he’s happy to be able to do more of what he was ordained to do — “Sacraments, the Mass, working with people.”
“Now, I just get to do the fun stuff,” he said. “I have a lot more freedom. I have a lot of time during the day.”
Not that he doesn’t stay busy.
In addition to his sacramental ministry at the Palmyra parish, he offers a weekday Mass twice a month in the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, about a 45-minute drive from the rectory, along with Mass in a local nursing home.
He also has more time to serve as a spiritual director on Cursillo weekends for Catholic adults and on Residents Encounter Christ (REC) retreats for prison residents.
He had gotten involved in Cursillo while serving as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Canton in the 1970s and ’80s.
“And now that I’m back in the area, I’m involved in it again,” he said.
“All God’s doing”
Fr. Kaimann sees the ministerial Priesthood as “a bridge that brings people to God and God to people.”
With and for Christ, “my purpose is to be that connecting link for everybody — not just my parishioners or certain people, but everyone,” he said.
“My most important thing is the faith of the people,” he stated, “that they follow in faith and trust in the Lord.”
He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on March 14, 1970.
He served first as an associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Glasgow, at what is now Holy Family Parish in Hannibal, at Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City, and at Sacred Heart parish in Columbia.
He served as a pastor in Canton, St. Patrick and LaGrange; Boonville and Fayette; Montgomery City and Jonesburg; Marceline and Hurricane Branch; and then Marceline and Brookfield.
He noted his 50th priestly anniversary in 2020, the year he retired.
He stays grounded and avoids burnout by attending to his own relationship with the Lord “in order to be more like him and being open to the Spirit forming and changing me.”
He believes the decades have helped make him humble and more trusting in the Lord.
“It’s all about God, about God’s plan,” he said. “It’s all God’s doing.”
He thanks God for the good health he’s been blessed with.
He has always made a priority of staying in shape.
“I’ve been a runner all my life,” he said. “I started when I was in college. I’ve always done it early in the morning. I found that it has been great for self-discipline and it’s been a really important thing for me.”
He also enjoys bicycling and fishing for “whatever’s biting.”
The diocesan Priest Retirement Fund, which is supported by the Easter Collection, ensures that when each priest of the diocese reaches retirement age, he receives a pension.
He’s grateful for the people who contribute to the Easter Collection each year.
“I would say, the priests and religious have given their service to the people,” he stated, “so it’s only right that they be provided retirement when they no longer can serve.”
To be
Sr. Ruth Ann anticipates a time when she won’t be able to do as much but will still present herself as an offering to God.
“I believe that it is so important to be my best self that God wants me to be,” she said. “The doing will come along. So, when I no longer can do because of illness, old age or whatever, I am still able to be, and my prayer and presence are of utmost importance.”
She’s grateful to all the generous donors who have shared and continue to share their gifts with the many retired religious and priests over the years.
“It is your generosity that helps all of us today and in the future,” she stated. “Please know each of you and your loved ones are in our daily prayers. If you are able, please continue to share with us.”
“So many persons who have crossed my life have shown gratitude to me, and I am so thankful to each of them,” she said.
She suggested offering prayers of praise and gratitude to God for the many gifts that he gives each day, especially his love.
She also asked for prayers for God to continue to summon persons who will be faithful to his call to live lives that will lead to being a saint.
How could people help God answer that prayer?
“By being faithful to your individual call that God has given to you,” said Sr. Ruth Ann.
