Sister Kathleen Kunze 

God has blessed me in so many ways and I am very grateful. I have had wonderful and rich experiences through living with good people, teaching, being a principal, serving in some community ministries, and living and ministering with people who struggle day by day just to live.

I am the second oldest in a family of five, born to Eleanore and Henry Kunze on September 15, 1939. My mother was a woman of great generosity and kindness, and my dad was a gentle, hard-working man, with a great sense of humor. The oldest was 16 and the youngest had just turned five when my mother died.

I first met the School Sisters of St. Francis when I was four years old. My brother took me to school for “show and tell!” Sister Clarita took my hand and said, “And who do we have here?” She was so kind. The joy and kindness of the sisters was what first attracted me to the Community.

When I was an Aspirant, I was with my two sisters waiting for a bus. Marguerite said, “Don’t you feel silly being dressed like that?” Before I had a chance to answer, Carol said, “Why should she feel silly? People probably think she’s going to a costume party.”

When I was a Novice, I wrote a letter to Mother Corona stating that I’d volunteer to be a missionary to China. As a Junior Sister, you can imagine my dismay when Mother Corona told me she was sending me to Blessed Agnes of Bohemia. I thought I was leaving the country, as I had never heard of Blessed Agnes before. But I sighed in relief when I found out it was a parish in Chicago and a place with wonderful people.

It was during my years in Mississippi and Dehon House – a shelter for people who were homeless in Chicago – that I met the God of Perpetual Surprise over and over again! I thought that I was going to bring God to the people of Yazoo City, but I soon learned that God was already there and in very good standing with the people. What I had to do was to open my heart and join God with those good people. The people were poor materially, but so very rich in faith and trust. So often we heard them say, “God is taking care of us.” The people who are poor taught me so much. Through them, I came to know a loving, compassionate, and creative God.

My years of ministry as coordinator of the Sisters Living Group at the Motherhouse, formation director in Chicago, and on the Provincial Leadership Team were years of many blessings. I came to know so many sisters and associates, as well as who we are as a community, serving with wonderful people who touch our lives.

God is so good to me. I used to think I could do something to save the world, but sisters and friends and the people I met through my ministries saved me from myself. Thank you!

I retired from a paycheck but not from our mission, doing whatever I can to help make life better for all of us. Being a School Sister of St. Francis is a blessing. Thank you to all of you who have been, and are, a part of my life.

We say thank you to you, Sister Kathleen, for your dedicated service as a School Sister of St. Francis for 70 years.