Threshold - Winter 2005

Jubilee: Marking Milestones

(seated) Sisters Julia Wilkinson, Mary Frederick Lueb, Mary Ellen Auffert, (standing) Silver jubilarian Carolyn Rohde, Berlinda Gallegos, Sharon Murray, Prioress Anne Shepard, Mariella Pucka, and Jose Sanchez from Colorado Springs

“My teacher said I wouldn’t last a week,” remarked one of those celebrating fifty years at Mount St. Scholastica. Life can be an exciting and surprising journey of faith, and this year’s jubilarians can attest to that fact. Six sisters were honored for fifty years of religious life and one sister marked twenty-five years in a September 18 celebration, which included a Mass of gratitude, the renewal of their profession and a reception for family and friends.

The golden jubilarians also have three other classmates, Sisters Jose Sanchez, Naomi Rosenberger, and Francine Stallbaumer, who were professed in Atchison but are now part of a daughterhouse, Benet Hill Monastery, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sister Jose was able to participate in the celebration in Atchison.

Often people from very different backgrounds are called to share the journey with one another and, along the way, they gain a variety of experiences. Sister Berlinda Gallegos, from southern Colorado, has had a long career in elementary and special education throughout Kansas and neighboring states. She now assists elderly persons in their homes.

Three members of the class were called to travel much farther geographically. Sister Mary Frederick Lueb, from Seneca, Kansas, was part of a missionary group from Atchison establishing a monastery in Mexico in the 1960s. Since returning, Sister Mary Frederick has shared her talents with the community in many ways, including food service and artistic woodcarving.

Sister Mary Ellen Auffert was also part of a missionary venture. She spent several years at another daughterhouse of Mount St. Scholastica in Mineiros, Brazil. She then worked in life/family advocacy with Human Life International in Gaithersberg, Maryland. Recently, she has taken the challenge of a mission setting closer to home as principal and teacher for a school in Tecumseh, Nebraska, which gives special attention to the children of immigrants.

Sister Mariella Pucka found her vocation in her hometown of Atchison, but was not destined to remain so close to home. She also spent time in Brazil and in elementary education in the area. Now back in Atchison, she has assisted with hospitality and other services within the monastery.

Two other jubilarians gave their service both in Colorado and in the urban core of Kansas City. Sister Julia Wilkinson, born in St. Joseph, Mo., returned to Atchison in 1977 to teach sociology and criminology at Benedictine College. She has served as a chaplain for Valley Hope in Atchison and provides spiritual direction at Sophia Spirituality Center in Atchison. Originally from Chicago, Sister Sharon Murray taught history for many years in high schools and for ten years at Benedictine College. Currently, she is administrative assistant at All Faith Counseling Center in Atchison.

Sister Carolyn Rohde, a native of Freeport, Ill., is the silver jubilarian. She is a nurse at St. John’s Hospital, Leavenworth. All have seen many changes in their lives and continue to be grateful for their faithfulness through the years.

These sisters know that the journey will bring many more unexpected encounters, more bends in the road, more miles to cover. Sister Sharon’s attitude is typical of the sisters’ openness to the experience. She concludes, “Fifty years removed from Chicago, it has been a truly grand journey. It is clear that in this whole operation the grace of a very patient God has been working overtime!”

The Rohde family gathered from Illinois and Wisconsin for the celebration.


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