Celebrating, reconnecting with School Sisters of Notre Dame during event at Helias Catholic High School
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Sister Jean Dietrich of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) stood and smiled behind a podium adorned in boldface with the word HELIAS.
Everyone else had left, leaving her momentarily alone with her thoughts.
“I have so many great memories here,” said Sr. Jean, who taught and coached at Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City before serving as principal and in other administrative roles for over 30 years.
She was one of 20 SSNDs who are from, have been missioned to or are still serving in the Jefferson City diocese who took part in a “Celebrate and Connect” event in the Commons area at Helias Catholic.
About 60 laypeople were there to visit, reminisce and share a light meal with sisters who had been part of important moments in their lives.
“Today, we’re celebrating connections — family, friendship, education, ministry together, a shared prayer presence and prayer and worship, all manifested through the dedication and charism of the School Sisters of Notre Dame,” said Sister Kathleen Wegman SSND, the bishop’s delegate to religious sisters in the diocese.
Conversations and laughter filled the room as sisters and laypeople caught up on the years since they’d last seen each other.
A slideshow of local SSNDs throughout the years played on a loop, sparking further conversations.
“This is a beautiful sight and a great moment in this sacred space of Helias Catholic High School,” said Sr. Kathleen, a Jefferson City native and Helias Catholic graduate. “I think it’s a profound moment that we’re gathering here. I’m very grateful.”
She spoke of the common spirit the sisters share, which was embodied in Blessed Mother Theresa Gerhardinger, who founded the School Sisters of Notre Dame in what is now Germany in 1833.
Members of the congregation arrived in the United States in 1847. The first SSNDs in what is now the Jefferson City diocese arrived in Westphalia in 1866.
“We’ve all been touched by that same spirit, and it continues to flow through all of us,” said Sr. Kathleen.
Mutual charism
Leading the assembly in prayer, Sr. Kathleen thanked God for the “flood of gifts” that had flowed from him through nearly a century and a half of connecting SSNDs with the community.
“We thank you for each person present here today who has walked in the spirit and values of the School Sisters of Notre Dame,” she prayed. “May our time together bring forth renewed kindness, new life and solidarity with all in need in our cities, our countryside, our world and in the whole of creation.
“May we always be aware of the abundance of your unconditional love and return that love to you through this time together,” she continued.
Named for the Blessed Mother (Notre Dame, “Our Lady”) the SSNDs are an international religious congregation whose sisters now serve in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Sr. Kathleen pointed back to the collaboration of the pastors of St. Peter and Immaculate Conception parishes in Jefferson City with the SSNDS and the De La Salle Christian Brothers to open and staff Helias Catholic in its early decades.
“In a way, we stand in a space that flows from that mutual charism,” she said.
She noted that Sr. Jean, who remains a member of the Helias Catholic faculty, “represents the unbroken presence of SSNDs dating back to 1956, when this school was founded.”
Much has been given
Among the sisters who were back for a visit were Sister Carleen Reck SSND and Sister Ann Marie Bonvie SSND, who are previous superintendents of Catholic schools in this diocese.
Sr. Kathleen told Erin Vader Ed.D., current superintendent of Catholic schools, “you stand on the shoulders of these women.”
She told Sr. Carleen and Sr. Ann Marie: “You would be proud of the leadership of Dr. Vader, who embodies the great feminine gift of school leadership.”
Sr. Kathleen also spotlighted Sister Bernita Wasinger SSND, who has been serving in this diocese for 40 years, who will move from Loose Creek this summer to the independent living wing of the Sarah Community near St. Louis.
“You know, it takes a courageous person to say, ‘it’s time,’” said Sr. Kathleen. “So, we’re grateful, Bernita, for all you’ve done here, but also for the active leadership you’re showing to all of us.”
Lasting encounters
Sr. Kathleen opened up the microphone for thoughts and reminiscence.
Mark Rehagen, a member of St. Peter Parish, called to mind how Matthew Marie (later known as Sister Adele) Hulling SSND had worked with Monsignor Joseph Vogelweid in the early 1960s to start a special-education program at St. Peter School.
“My brother, who was a couple of years older than me, had special needs,” he noted. “And my parents, our family, are so grateful for the school system, for what they did for my brother and for all the others with special needs.”
Norma Struemph, a member of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City, is a lay associate of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and co-coordinator for the Associates in Missouri and Illinois.
“I made my first covenant in 1992, and it was much to the support and the friendship of sisters like Sister Kathleen Koenen and Sister Connie Schmidt,” she said.
She also had SSNDs as teachers in grade school at Holy Family School in Freeburg.
“So, all of my experiences with the School Sisters of Notre Dame and then with becoming an associate, my life has been very enriched by that,” she said.
Women and men of all ages are welcome to become SSND associates, she said.
Ron Vossen, president of Helias Catholic, is also a graduate of the school.
“My thoughts right now are in Thanksgiving for everything that the School Sisters of Notre Dame did here for Helias Catholic,” he said. “We could not have been where we are today without them.”
One visitor handed a paper airplane to his grade school principal. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen one from him.
Sister Jean spoke on behalf of all the sisters who have served in this area.
“I can say that for the 40-however-many years I’ve been here, the people in this area are generous, friendly and wonderful to work with.”
Sr. Kathleen noted that she and many of her fellow sisters entered religious life in part due to God’s goodness exhibited through the sisters who went before them.
She called to mind how she used to cry out of homesickness every day in first grade when her Dad would drop her off at St. Peter School in Jefferson City.
Sister Marie Jerome, now deceased, who later went by Sister Rita, was her teacher.
“Sr. Rita never gave up on me,” said Sr. Kathleen. “And the day I entered the School Sisters, after I graduated from Helias in 1967, that summer, we had a service there in the chapel, and then we processed down the hall to the postulancy.”
Sr. Rita was there beside her, saying, “I can’t believe you’re leaving home!”
Caught in time
Debbie Roy Tyler, manager of donor relations and events for the multistate Central Pacific Province of the SSND, said maintaining relationships between the sisters and the communities they’ve served in is vital to ensuring that the congregation’s mission continues well into the future.
The sisters all stood and called down a blessing upon all the people who were present.
The sisters then gathered on a flight of stairs next to the SSND insignia in the Commons for a group photo.
Several sisters and laypeople made their way upstairs to tour the building and visit the chapel, which was completed in 2017 and contains spiritual reminders of the legacy of the SSNDs and De La Salle Christian Brothers.
“Such a historic gathering,” said Sr. Kathleen. “So much history here.”
