In this Random Nun Clip, Sister Kathleen Ann Mourisse talks about her ministry as President of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception in West Peoria, Illinois. Hear the full Ask Sister podcast AS215 at aNunsLife.org.
RSS Subscribe
This Random Nun Clip is brought to you by our awesome sponsor, the Sisters of the Precious Blood, in Dayton, Ohio.
Let us know your thoughts about the podcast by taking this short survey! Your input helps us shape the future of our podcasts! Click HERE to take the survey. Thank you!
L: Sister Kathleen Ann Mourisse is President of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception in West Peoria, Illinois. She is from a farm family in East Moline, Illinois. A vowed religious for 47 years, she has ministered in education as a teacher for grades 5-8 and as a principal for elementary schools. She has also been involved with coordinating RCIA programs and adult spirituality. Sister Kathleen Ann has a bachelor's degree in Education master's in Liturgy, and is a certified spiritual and retreat director. She loves being a Franciscan Sister because of the emphasis on simplicity and joy, essential elements of Franciscan spirituality and life.
R: Sister Subha Clare Ramesh was received as a novice with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception in November 2018. She was born in Chennai, India, to Hindu parents and has spent most of her life in New York. Sister Subha Clare first felt the call to religious life in 2015, shortly after receiving the Sacraments and becoming Catholic. With the grace of God and A Nun's Life Ministry, she has journeyed to the novitiate. Prior to religious life, she spent 30 years in corporate retail. Sister Subha Clare has advanced degrees in political science.
SISTER MAXINE: I am Sister Maxine, and we are here in Peoria, Illinois, home of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception. With us today are two amazing sisters, Sister Kathleen Ann Mourisse.
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: Good morning. Glad to be with you this day. So looking forward to our conversation together.
SISTER MAXINE: And Sister Subha Clare Ramesh.
SISTER SUBHA: Welcome. Very happy to have you here, Sister Max, and glad to be on the show.
SISTER MAXINE: Sister Kathleen Ann, you are president of the congregation. What kind of things does a president do? There is probably no typical day.
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: That’s right, because you ever know what is going to happen each day. It depends on the needs of the sisters that we have here at the motherhouse. It also depends on the needs of the sisters out on their missions. Sometimes I am traveling. Tomorrow I have to go to our nursing home in Springfield. We have a new management company that’s working with us, so someone from that company is there tomorrow, so I am going out to be part of that process.
SISTER MAXINE: Where are your sisters located? You mentioned Springfield. Where else are they?
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: We have one sister who is in South Dakota on the Lakota Indian reservation. Most of the rest of our sisters are in this general area, working in the Peoria area and the Peoria diocese, except for our home in Springfield. We have a shelter care home in Springfield that our sisters staff. We are considered pretty much a diocesan, except we are in the Peoria diocese and our home in Springfield in the Springfield diocese.
SISTER MAXINE: So the sisters of the congregation are involved in a wide variety of ministries.
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: They are, yes. It used to be we were mostly in education, but that is not the case anymore. We are much broader as to what the sisters are involved in.
SISTER MAXINE: As you thought about the call to leadership, how do you discern a call to leadership?
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: (laughter) That’s a hard question. (laughter) You have to rely on the wisdom of your sisters, the experiences you’ve had in your own life. I was a teacher forever, I was a principal, I worked in campus ministry. All of those, I think, contributed to being able to have this role. I was trained as a spiritual director. It seems like every part of my life, up to this point, led me to this. It’s a scary position to be in, but yet you have to trust that God is leading me here and that my sisters see the gifts and talents I have that contribute to my being able to be in this position.
SISTER MAXINE: It’s one of the great parts of community, I have always thought, is that community will call us sometimes to things we haven’t envisioned for ourselves.
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: For sure.
SISTER MAXINE: But that God has already prepared in our hearts.
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: That’s right, that’s right. So many different experiences in my life that contributed to my being able to have this position now.
SISTER MAXINE: How long is your leadership term?
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: Four years. I am about a year and a half into my four-year term.
SISTER SUBHA : Let’s be clear. It’s her first term. (laughter) Just saying (laughter).
SISTER KATHLEEN ANN: Just saying! (laughter
SISTER SUBHA: First term. (laughter)
To hear full episodes of A Nun’s Life podcasts, visit the podcast page at anunslife.org/podcasts.
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
