2011 October Communigram

Communigram

According to a long-cherished tradition, the Franciscan Sisters at Holy Family Convent celebrated the Transi-tus of Saint Francis, the passing of Father Francis into Heaven on October 3 in the evening. The service be-gan with an introduction by Sister Mariadele Jacobs.

“After having spent the night of the death of their beloved Father Francis in prayer and song, the small band of Friars sought consolation by going to San Damiano, the residence of the Poor Ladies where Francis had often found the peace of his beloved, Jesus Christ. Here in the enclosure, Clare gathered her Sisters near the Chapel where all could listen to the voices of the sorrowing Friars share their memories of the final hours of their saintly Father.

Often, as years went by, the Poor Ladies of San Damiano would recall the memories, the prayers and psalms which the Friars had shared that holy day. Here, in 2011, the Sisters were privileged to call to mind and heart those same prayers as Brother Thomas of Celano related them for posterity in his Life of Saint Francis.”

To the strains of the Gregorian Chant “In Paradisum,” in darkness lighted by only small candles in their hands, six Sisters acting as the mourning Friars pre-ceded the chaplain, Father Nathan Jaskulski, OFM who placed the candle representing the beloved Fran-cis’ spirit before the assembly. From the opposite side of the chapel, the Sister Novices, Postulant and Postu-lant Directress as the Poor Ladies approached the scene. The Friars and Poor Ladies then proclaimed their sorrows and reflected on the hymn “Holy Dark-ness” sung by Sisters Caritas Stodthoff and Myra Jean Sweigart. Next, the Poor Ladies invited all present to light a candle and place it before the Francis Candle while Sister Winifred Crevier played quiet organ music and Sister Myra Jean chanted Psalm 45, following of which Sister Louise Hembrecht read from Ephesians.

Sister Laura Wolf chanted Psalm 26 and, Father Na-than delivered the Gospel of John, verses requested by Father Francis as he lay dying. After a short time of reflection, Sister Adrianna Schouten recited the prayer with which Thomas of Celano had concluded the last chapter of Francis’ life. After Sister Louise extin-guished the Francis Candle, all departed the chapel in silence.

Celebration of the Transitus

Manitowoc, WI― Sister Bernadone Fagan received a

Catholic Educator award at Roncalli High School on

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. This special recognition

comes during her 65th year in the classroom.

The plaque given reads: Catholic Educator Award to Sister

Bernadone Fagan in recognition of her many years of dedication

and service to Catholic Education in the Lakeshore area and

beyond.

Catholic Educator Award

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity October 2011

Volume 45, Issue 8

Sister Bernadone posed with the Prinipal of Roncalli High School, Tim Olson (left) and President John Stelzer (right).

Sister Carol Seidl is a farmer’s daughter and proud of it. She says, “Growing up on a farm in the country gave me lots of experi-ences and a lot of responsibilities, too. But you learn one thing when you are raised on a farm: ‘The cows always come first.’ This started the night I was born. My family was in Green Bay, WI cele-brating Christmas Day at the home of my Dad’s sister, Loretta Simons, mother of Sister Judy (Julie) Simons, my first cousin. After the family get-together, my parents and two older brothers headed home to Luxemburg, WI to milk the cows on Christmas Night. Af-ter the milking my Dad headed back to Green Bay with my Mom so I could be born at 9:30 p.m. and still be a Christmas baby!”

Sister went to grade school at St. Mary’s in Luxemburg, where she had the School Sisters of St. Fran-cis from Milwaukee, WI. Many girls from this school went to be aspirants at their Motherhouse. However, Carol’s mother did not think that anyone in 8th grade knew what they wanted at so young an age so Carol was not allowed to go and be an aspirant there.

Sister recalls: “In 1967 my family, which was then five brothers and one sister, had a major move in our lives. It was only about three-fourths of a mile, but we went from a brand new home to a 100-year-old farm house. My Dad be-came the sole owner of his family’s farm. We switched homes with his

brother. Now the challenge was to put seven kids and my Mom and Dad into three bedrooms in the upstairs. My grandmother lived with us, being the home farm, so she had the first-floor bedroom. My five brothers were in one bed-room! We had only one bathroom, too, for ten people.”

“That first night on the farm no one has forgotten. At about 1:00 a.m. I heard chains and mooing—our cows had gotten out of the pasture and were going down the road and we were off a main high-way. My nighttime hearing has al-ways been good so I heard them first and alerted my Dad, who got the boys up to round up the cows. No one got any sleep that night between adjusting to a new home and the cows own version of a house-warming party for us.”!

Sister attended Luxemburg-Casco High School and forgot all about being a Sister. In her senior year she was accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the teacher program. One night, though, she was babysitting at the neighbor’s farm and read the Green Bay diocesan paper, The Compass, as they did not have this paper at their house. She saw the ad for the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and cut out the little square at the bottom to get information. Sister Mary Xavier Brower sent her a nice packet. She told her parents of her desire to become a Sister. Her Dad was de-lighted; her mother doubted she

had a vocation and didn’t think ‘she would last.’

Carol’s family would often visit Sister Judy Simons on Visiting Sunday at Holy Family Convent, and Carol always remembered the laughter from the Sisters on those Sundays. It sounded like a joyful community.

After entering our Community, Sister received her Bachelor of Sci-ence degree from Silver Lake Col-lege with a major in Elementary Education. She began her teaching career in 4th grade but soon taught grades 5-8. After nine years of teaching, she began her career as a principal upon receiving her Mas-ter of Arts degree from the Uni-versity of San Francisco, CA.

Sister at first was principal at small schools like Immaculate Concep-tion in DePere, WI and also St. Peter and Paul School in Wellston, OH. She then went on to Yuma, AZ (Immaculate Conception

Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 8

By Sister Kay Elmer

Sister Carol standing in front of a beautiful

desert bush near All Saints Catholic School.

School) and fell in love with the desert and mountains. From there she had to ‘toughen up’ and get used to the wind and cold of West Point, NE (Guardian Angels School). She was then assigned to St. Philip’s School in Green Bay for one year--and she says this move was an act of God! Carol’s oldest brother, Jerry, needed a kid-ney and asked her to become a do-nor. She relates: “I was shocked! Definitely! I was always the one in school who always had perfect at-tendance. Do I want to risk living with only one kidney? But I agreed to the blood test, and wouldn’t you know, I was the perfect match. My brother, Gene, on the farm told me: ‘I knew it would be YOU. You were born on Christmas Day, you are a Sister, and you never wanted to be missioned close to home as you like to travel, and here you are in Green Bay!’ Ten years later and my one kidney has not slowed me down.”

After that one year in Green Bay Sister Carol was assigned to St. Francis of Assisi School in Green-wood, MS where she fell in love with the culture and the many challenges there, learning a lot of history as well. After nine years in the South she went to Hawaii (St. Theresa School, Kekaha) and

loved swimming in the ocean, hik-ing on the Sleeping Giant and watching the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.

Many have asked Sister how she ended up going to Sierra Vista, AZ where she is now. She says, “The Superintendent of Schools for the Tucson Diocese has told me many times that God sent me to Sierra Vista for a reason. It truly was the hand of God. I was at first reas-signed to Hawaii to do Religious Education and Parish work. I was to begin my Masters in Theology. I had my college picked out and re-ceived information from them. But then the pastor in Hawaii changed his mind about hiring me. He was

being trans-ferred and he didn’t think it was right to hire a new po-sition when he wasn’t going to be the pas-tor any more. So there I was, for the first

time in my life, unemployed! In the morning, with my 6th grade class, we had shared petitions. I had them praying for those who were unemployed looking for jobs. They had no idea I was asking them to pray for me. After about two weeks, Sister Rosa Maria, from the Diocese of Tucson, called Sister Louise Hembrecht, our Commu-nity Director, to ask if she had any principals available as she had three openings. I received an e-mail to apply for these three schools. I was interviewed via Skype and got the job at Sierra Vista.”

“Here I am today at All Saints Catholic School at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish. I was told I had two main goals: 1) to make the school Catholic again, and 2) to build up the enrollment. I, who love challenges and adventures, have one now!”

Sister Carol feels that it is true, if you let God in your life and let him lead you, you will go places you never thought you would and do things you never thought you could. One can see the hand of God leading in one’s life.


Left: Sister Carol sitting on top of

Sleeping Giant overlooking the ocean

-it was quite the hike!

Sister Carol appears very small standing at

the front gate of All Saints Catholic School

in Sierra Vista, AZ.

There are beautiful sun rises and sun sets in

Sierra Vista, also! Above are monsoon

clouds at sunset in their neighborhood.

Right: Sister Carol holding a

baby goat in Hawaii.

Regina Writes:


Dear Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity,

It is an honor and a blessing to write to you as “the Postulant”, and so I must first say thank you, everyone, for your kindness and happy acceptance of me as I crawl through this time of waiting and quiet (although if you’ve ever sat the table over from the Novices and me on REC night, you’d probably agree that ‘quiet’ isn’t the word for what I’m doing here). I feel in my wanderings and explorations of the Motherhouse and your Franciscan life that I am very much in the right place at this time, for whatever God’s purposes may be, and am very grateful that I can investigate His will for me and for all of us in such a non-threatening way. So, thank you.

I’ve been asked to share some of myself with you on paper and have decided the best way to go about it is in list form. It’s been said that men are like waffles, boxed off and straightforward, and women are like spaghetti: tangled up, a complicated and multifaceted mass, and no one knows where one piece stops and the other begins until an end shlachks you between the eyes. I am Spaghetti Exhibit A. As for who, and what, God has created me to be, I tend to think of myself in bullet points because it’s easier to chew, hopefully for all of us. Here we go:

Name: Regina Louise Lehnerz Birthdate: June 5, 1987 Birthplace: West Bend, WI Parents: John & Kathryn Siblings: Jonathan (married to Vicki), Jarrod (Andrea), Barbara (Chris), and Joseph Nephews & Nieces: 11 Favorite color: purple Favorite food: lasagna and dessert Favorite book after the Word of God: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. Favorite scripture: Among others: “No longer will your Teacher hide Himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: ‘This is the way; walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or to the

left” [Isaiah 30: 20-21]. See Sacred Scripture for an exhaustive list of preferred verses. Favorite to-do’s: Play outside, sing in the car, discuss life-changing revelations, volunteer, take a road trip, be me with the people I love, contemplate God, talk to others about God.

What I want to be when I grow up: See Mat-thew 19: 13-15. In this life, though, I could see myself working with teenagers, or helping in a retreat center, or serving the poor, or cleaning up neighborhoods, or playing music in ministry, or a combi-nation of all these things.

Why I chose Holy Family Convent: I didn’t. One February night a few Februaries ago, I was reading a biography of St. Padre Pio and said to myself, “Self, how does some-

body get a ‘job’ like Padre Pio’s?” And from left field there came the thought, more the idea, of religious life. After the required amount of hemming and hawing and a sufficient number of temper tantrums, I said, “Ok, God, if this is what You want, You have to do it for me.” A focus group, a Google search, a meet-and-greet, a discernment retreat, and a weeklong class on the Book of Revelation later, here I am in black and white. I didn’t choose Catholicism, I didn’t choose ‘Franciscan’, I didn’t choose the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, I didn’t choose Manitowoc, Wiscon-sin; God, in His infinite mercy, forgiveness, compas-sion and love, has laid these things before me and has shown me what beauty there is in trusting Him to bring about His Will.

Some goals for this year in Postulancy: To become more flexible to the urgings of God’s Holy Spirit; to operate with God in mind more often than not; to give of my-self as I am.

Thank you again, Sisters, for your many prayers and the opportunity you’ve given me to seek His Will fur-ther in Formation with you. I will continue to do my best at learning names and faces as we all discern our paths. In the meantime, the Novices and I will try to keep it down at the supper table.

Through Him, with Him, and in Him: Regina

Five New International Students Arrived at Holy Family Convent


Manitowoc, WI― Five Sisters from three different Afri-can countries recently arrived at the Motherhouse to begin their studies at Silver Lake College of the Holy Family. Sister Emiliana Kayaga hails from Ka-sulu, located in western Tanzania, but her Community, Bene Maria Sisters have their Motherhouse in Ngozi, Burundi. At present there are 50 Sisters and a Novitiate in the process of becoming a prov-ince in Tanzania.

Both of Sister Emiliana’s parents are still living along with four living brothers and two sisters. She also has one brother deceased.

Three years ago she came to America to Assumption College in New Jersey, and received an Associate de-gree in Liberal Arts Now she is attending Silver Lake, working for a degree in Management. She will go back to Tanzania to make use of her degree.

Sister enjoys teasing and fits in very well from her first week here where she “learned to play hand and foot. The Sisters here are charming and welcoming,” she said.

Also joining us from the Com-munity of the Little Sisters of St. Francis whose Motherhouse is in the central district of Uganda in the Nkokonjery area is Sister Julieta Katwele. She is from the same Community that Sister Anne Therese came from. Sister Julieta’s home is in Kili-manjaro, Tanzania. Where there

are 30 Little Sisters. She is the only Little Sister in the States from Tanzania. The others are either from Kenya or Uganda.

Her parents are also still alive and she has seven broth-ers and seven sisters.

For the five years she has been in the United States she

has been working as a C.N.A. at Villa Loretto Nursing Home in Mount Calvary, WI. As a student at Silver Lake she will be majoring in Theology with a view of teaching Theology to her Sisters on a college level.

Sister would “like to thank the Sisters for welcoming me into the Community and sponsoring me at Silver Lake College.

From the Northwest corner of Tanzania Sister Constansia Cyliro came to America three years ago to further her educa-tion. Her Community is the Fran-ciscan Sisters of St. Bernadette. Before coming to Holy Family Convent she received an Associ-ate Degree at Assumption Col-lege for Sisters in Mendham, New Jersey. Now at Silver Lake

she is working toward a degree in Education with a minor in English. Her future plan is to help with youth by teaching on the elementary level. She also wants to learn English so she will be able to help the Sisters with English

Sister Constansia is blessed with both her parents, who are still living, three brothers and four sisters. She en-joys singing, walking and exercise.

She is “happy to be here. I feel happy and free to be here.”

From Nigeria comes Sister

Rose Maura Okongwu. Her

Motherhouse is in Onitsha -

Anambra State in Northern Ni-

geria. She belongs to the Com-

munity of the Immaculate Heart

of Mary, Mother of Christ.

Presently we also have Sister

Maria Eche from her Community, and have had sev-

eral others in the past. Her home is in Amawbia-Awkh,

Nigeria Only her mother is still alive, and she has one

brother and two sisters. Continued on page 8.


Trafficking of Human Beings: Our Response as Franciscans Human Smuggling or Trafficking?

Hundreds of thousands of migrants without legal standing are smuggled across the U.S. borders each year, yet the State Department says only 18,000 of them are victims of human trafficking, even though they follow the same routes of en-try. What is the difference?

Victims of trafficking enter the U.S. unwillingly or because of deception. They may have been sold by their parents or promised jobs or educational opportunities that won’t ma-terialize. They enter into a long-term relationship with their

traffickers or new employers that will be characterized by violence or coercion and a gamut of debt peonage schemes.

Although they, too, are often exploited and abused, people smuggled into the U.S. often pay their way upfront and may never see the smugglers again once they cross the border. Victims of trafficking, on the other hand, awake at their destination to a nightmare – they are a commodity delivered to a purchaser: modern day slave trade!

Kevin Clark US Catholic, January 2009 Submitted by Sister Lorita Gaffney

Here we are, ready to begin a new series of reflections on some facets of social justice. Taking our cue from our Day of Diversity during our community gatherings, this year we will take a look at cultural diversity in the Church. As the year proceeds, we will consider the issues and chal-lenges facing various cultural groups in our society. Our reflections begin with a statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops entitled Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. Although this statement is now ten years old, it gives us a good starting point in our look at diversity.

The bishops begin by considering, not the problems caused by immigration, but the root causes of immigration itself. They state, “we remind heads of government around the world that emigration of all kinds—but espe-cially that of those fleeing war and persecution, famine and economic distress—is a sign of the failure of the whole international community to guarantee the security and welfare of all people in their homelands.” Thus they place responsibility not only on the homelands of those who find it necessary to flee, but on the society of the world. This signals our own involvement in this issue.

The Bishops go on to enumerate the practical actions needed to resolve problems as they write, “The ultimate resolution of the problems associated with forced migration and illegal immigration lies in changing the conditions that drive persons from their countries of origin. Accordingly, we urge the governments of the world, particularly our own government, to promote a just peace in those countries that are at war, to protect human rights in those countries that deny them, and to foster the economic development of those countries that are unable to provide for their own peoples. We also urge the governments of the "receiving" countries to welcome these

immigrants, to provide for their immediate needs, and to enable them to come to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.”

Too often we participate in the view of immigrants which speaks of “us” and “them”. The Bishops remind us of our own personal and national history which should call us to compassion. They write, “Perhaps the greatest obstacle to wel-coming the stranger is that many Americans have forgotten their immigrant past. "Nativism" assumes that there is just one image of a "real American" and that immigrants either cannot live up to it or willfully refuse to do so. ...The critics of multiculturalism today want immigrants and other distinctive groups to shed their languages, cus-toms, and identities as quickly as possible, to become Americans "just like the rest of us." But "the rest of us" are, in fact, a cultur-ally plural society—Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims; believers and non-believers; Southerners and Northerners; Irish, Italian, and Mexican—proud of our heritages and proud to be Americans, all at once.

Finally the Bishops call to mind the relationship of the Church with the immigrant. Just as these newcomers to any society continue on their life’s journey, so the Church is a pilgrim. The new immigration is a reminder of the pilgrim state of the Church, made up of all those, regardless of race or class or national origin, who have been called to the wedding banquet and have responded (Lk 14:23). As a pilgrim, the Church encompasses in itself all the reality of human suffering and all the glory of the human spirit infused with the grace of Christ.

Let us take up the challenge of appreciating the diversity in the Body of Christ in our relationships, reading, enter-tainment, daily encounters and above all in our prayer for a unified, peaceful and diverse Church.

Ad ment By Sister Kathleen Murphy

Social Justice Commission

Clips from Greenwood, MS


St. Francis of Assisi Church in Greenwood continues to get a face lift. Last month, the new stained glass win-dows added beautiful color and inspiration to the envi-ronment. These past weeks a new slate floor has laboriously been laid in the main body of the church. That meant the parish congrega-tion had to meet in the transformed school cafeteria for a couple of the Sunday liturgies. With time the slate floor will shed the remaining dust and will shine up with use. We can already see the difference. The sanc-tuary is now in process of being changed. A new wood floor has been put down over the chipped terrazzo floor. Next will be a carpet that will grace the steps leading up to the tabernacle. Hopefully the new look will help everyone move towards a renewed spirit as they gather in a place that is beautiful and worthy of the Lord.

Community Days in Greenwood

We found some unique ways to enjoy our Community Days over the Labor Day Weekend. Late Sunday after-noon after all the liturgy responsibilities were accom-plished by both the Friars and Sisters, cold and rainy weather turned the planned outside picnic into an enjoy-able inside one. We created our own stir after enjoying delicious BBQ hamburgers and all the trimmings of a picnic. The Friars, along with Sr. Charlotte (Hispanic Min-ister for Greenwood) became acquainted with Penny Poker - a simple but fun inducing game. After a couple of rounds, we Sisters pulled out chips we had secretly tucked away in our pockets and started a pre-planned chip spinning frenzy. It was fun watching the others trying to figure out what was going on, then joining in the craziness.

You can see some live action of this on our commu-nity face book page by scrolling down to September 10 entries and clicking on the arrow by the picture that refers to "...Franciscans on the roll". It's worth a good laugh.

On Monday morning, we were ready to roll again, this time to Oxford, Mississippi, home of "Ole Miss" aka University of Mississippi. It is also the university that James Meredith attended in 1962. He was the first Af-rican American student at the University of Missis-sippi, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement. (We had the opportunity to meet and talk with Mr. Meredith last year here in Greenwood.) We spent time just driving all around the campus, which is listed this year as the most beautiful campus according to one of the surveys done each year on col-lege characteristics and preferences. We then spent time walking around the famous

square in the col-lege town. With it being Labor Day, many of the businesses were closed, but we did find a very busy restaurant, The Old Venice Pizza Company and enjoyed some good food. Unknown to us, a young lady who is thinking about religious life, spotted us in the restaurant, took a picture of us, and found out on a Catholic website on the internet that we were Franciscan Sisters of Chris-tian Charity. Within 24 hours through the help of Sr. Mary Ann Spanjers & Julie Ann Sheehan, she was in contact with us. We never know when our outings may be fruitful.

We arrived back home by late afternoon to some sun and more appealing temperatures. The day was relaxing and enjoyable and provided a nice break from school which had already been in ses-sion for over a month.

Submitted by Sister Mary Beth Kornely

During our visit to Oxford, Sr. Francis Mason sat down to have a brief visit with the famous William Faulkner, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. Faulk-ner grew up in Oxford, Mississippi along with many other notable writ-ers from Mississippi.

Sister Charlotte, Sister Kathleen and Brother Steve

Left to Right: Sister Annette, Fr. Greg, Sister Mary Ann and Fr. Bill spinning chips

St. Francis often spoke of special honor for priests because of the dignity of the Lord’s Sacrament which is made present by them. We support them often by our prayer and encouragement. In some cases, men who are our relatives including uncles, brothers, etc. receive special heartfelt mention in prayer. Re-cently, Fr. Troy Schneider, newly ordained nephew of our Sister Florita Schneider, presided at Eucharist in one of our Motherhouse chapels. He came to thank the Community personally for our support. Sister Florita’s oldest living brother Roger’s son, Fr. Troy, is originally from Eugene, OR, but after moving to California was ordained for the Orange Diocese. He is presently continuing studies at the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium.

Sister Florita and her nephew, Fr. Troy Schneider.

Newly Ordained

Before she joined us she worked for three years as a

housekeeper for Bishop Thomas Doran of the Rock-

ford, Illinois Diocese. Her major at Silver Lake is the

English Language, and is working for a minor in

Computer Science with hopes of becoming a secretary

and teacher. Sister enjoys watching the Disney Chan-

nel, and detective movies to relax.

“I would like to thank the Sisters for their generosity

towards the African Sisters, especially the opportunity

to further our studies,” says Sister Rose Maura.

Sister Bernadette Nabaggala came to us directly

from Uganda. She has been in her Community, the

Daughters of Mary - for 6 years. The Community is

located in the town of Masaka, in the central part of

Uganda. Her parents are still living and she is blessed

with three brothers and three sisters.

Sister is taking Theology

classes with plans to teach

Theology at the secondary

level when she goes back to

Uganda. English is the national

language of Uganda which is

of great help to her consider-

ing the short time she has been

here.

She tells us, “I appreciate the chance given to me to

study in the college of the Holy Family Sisters, and I

also appreciate the support given me in all areas. I

pray for them to be blessed by the Almighty by giving

them many members joining their Community.

We wish all of our International Sisters a blessed stay with us and success in their studies.

Written by Sister Carletta Christianson

International Students (continued from p. 5)


2011 October Communigram

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