Sister Barbarina was born on August 27, 1935, the first daughter of William and Loretta Jantsch. She was baptized Kathleen Marie and joined an older brother. Later, two brothers and two sisters joined the family. 

Growing up in Dorchester, Wisconsin, Sister Barbarina was blessed to be raised in a family of deep faith. She attended grade school at St. Louis Parish, which was noted for its liturgical services. Father Phillip Weller, a forward-looking priest, was ahead of his time in regard to the Liturgy. The special services of Tenebrae (where the eighth-grade boys sang psalms in Latin) and the processions throughout the year, such as on Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi, were great memories for Sister Barbarina.

The sisters at the school seemed happy and exemplified an inspiring prayer life. During the Spring of 1949, the sisters took a group of eighth graders to the Motherhouse in Milwaukee to see a pageant when the School Sisters of St. Francis were celebrating their 75th anniversary. Sister Barbarina was intrigued by the performance and by the Motherhouse itself, so she decided to give religious life a try and entered the Aspirancy after eighth grade. She was received into the community on June 13, 1952, and was given the name Barbarina, which she chose to keep.

Because of her music background. Sister Barbarina was encouraged to become a teacher/organist. This meant that her ministry was limited to small parishes. “I missed my own age group, and I felt isolated and alone most of the time.” she said. She looked forward to summers in Chicago at Holy Angels and St. Martin, where she enjoyed the company of other younger sisters. 

After finding out that teaching was not a good fit for her, Sister Agnes Marie offered her a job as assistant bookkeeper for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Province in Milwaukee. This opened the door to a new ministry. In 1980, Sister Barbarina began serving as an assistant accountant where she learned to do taxes and budgets.  She found this work very satisfying and served for 35 years in the International and U.S. Province offices.

“I have always enjoyed meeting and getting to know other sisters and co-workers,” she said. She lived at Ancilla Domini, a house of studies near Alverno College, while working in the International and Provincial offices. This gave her a chance to interact with sisters of a variety of age groups and religious communities, as there were always about 30 sisters living there. 

In 2014, Sister Barbarina moved into the Motherhouse, where she did volunteer work.  Then in December 2019, she was involved in a car accident which confined her to nursing care at Sacred Heart. 

At Sacred Heart, her ministry was one of prayer and presence, where she interacted with the sisters and staff in ways that helped them see the face of God.

Sister Barbarina, thank you for your life among us. May you now be in the fullness of God’s joy.