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Meet our sisters


Enjoy our archive of stories from women who have said yes to religious life

While some of our sisters have moved on from the ministries they were engaged in when these were recorded, this page serves to give you an idea of our sisters' lives and steps along their ongoing commitments to vowed lives.

 

The vows free me for ...

 

 

 

 

 

Show me a sign

 

Read and be inspired 

Meet Sisters Sister Helen Elsbernd and Roseyln Heil

Sister Helen Elsbernd headshotSister Helen Elsbernd professed her first vows as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration in 1958 and has spent the last 64 years of her religious life providing service to the community through various roles. Sister Helen has ministered as a chemistry professor and academic dean of Viterbo University, elected leadership for our Franciscan congregation, director of Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center and board member of numerous organizations in the La Crosse area and beyond. Upon her “retirement” from Viterbo in 1989, she was honored with the creation of the Sister Helen Elsbernd Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her outstanding service. This award is given to recipients in recognition of significant achievements and contributions made to the development of the university. Having served as FSPA’s vice president for eight years, Sister Helen again put her administrative skills to use, playing a key role in the affiliation of Franciscan Health System and Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.

In addition to serving as FSPA’s Congregational Treasurer, Sister Helen now spends much of her time volunteering at The Salvation Army and The Exchange Furniture Bank in La Crosse. Starting and ending every day in prayer, Sister Helen lives out Eucharistic presence by extending her weekly adoration hours into her everyday life. She strives to “be aware of God’s love and presence in all of creation” and wants to “be a sign of God's loving presence to others.” In her free time, she enjoys sewing, reading, gardening and spending time with her family and friends. Having answered the spirit’s call to live a life of personal holiness dedicated to God, Sister Helen is “deeply grateful for the blessings and opportunities” she has had that are way beyond her “wildest imagination.”

Sister Roselyn Heil headshotSister Roselyn Heil grew up on a farm south of Marathon City, Wisconsin, along with her three brothers and eight sisters. In 1970, Roselyn and her twin sister, Carolyn, made their first vows with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. After nine years, Roselyn left the congregation but decided to return in 2004. Since graduating from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with a bachelor's degree in social studies education and later a master's degree in culture and creation-centered spirituality, she has served in roles with Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center, the Lac du Flambeau reservation and Bell Tower Residence Assisted Living. In early 2022, Sister Roselyn joined the Ashland area Catholic churches to serve as a Pastoral Associate at St. Mary's Parish on the Bad River Ojibwe Reservation in Odanah, Wisconsin. When talking about her new role, Sister Roselyn shared that she is glad to be back in the community where she completed her student teaching in 1975.

Living over four and a half hours away from the rest of her community, Sister Roselyn connects with her fellow sisters through daily prayer via Zoom. Sister Roselyn explains that her personal prayer is enriched through this connection and that the sharing of their life experiences are also woven into their scripture sharing. When asked what it means to be a Catholic Sister in this time in Church history, Sister Roselyn expressed that "As a sister, I am empowered to stay with the Church. I am holding God's excessive mercy and love way above our need for mercy. I strive to actualize Christ's healing presence in tiny ways, believing that holding hands together, we hold a part of hope to transformation in a way only God knows."

Meet Sisters Sarah Hennessey and Laura Nettles

Sister Sarah Hennessey headshotSister Sarah Hennessey, raised as a Quaker in the South, joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in 2002, professed her first vows in 2005 and renewed her commitment in 2008. On Sept. 24, 2011, we welcomed Sister Sarah into full membership during her vow ceremony at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This ceremony culminated the nine-year process that Sister Sarah had to take to become fully incorporated into the FSPA congregation. Today she serves as a spiritual director for the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse. She officially joined the staff in 2019, but her involvement with the center goes back several years. As a spiritual director, Sister Sarah uses her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and her Master of Arts in theology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, to companion others to find the holy in the ordinary.

"I am in love with Christ, and I love to have my whole life centered on Christ. Being an FSPA helps me be more 'Sarah,'" explained Sister Sarah when asked why she became an FSPA. She lives out Eucharistic presence by "listening to others that are hurting, playing with a friend in joy and gazing at a sunset in awe." During her free time, she enjoys singing, taking long walks in nature and making some of the best popcorn around! Sister Sarah has been teaching about prayer for many years and states "My prayer practices help me be who I am meant to be. Gazing on Christ, I see Christ gazing on me."

Sister Laura Nettles headshotSister Laura Nettles, a native of Los Alamos, New Mexico, celebrated her final profession of vows with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in May of 2013. Sister Laura currently serves on the FSPA Leadership Team, overseeing the Unified Justice Team work, including our JEDI Team (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and immigration), Truth, Justice and Healing, and Franciscan Economy. Sister Laura also oversees our integral ecology ministries. 

As St. Francis of Assisi explained in his response to St. Anthony of Padua's request to study and teach at a university, "I am pleased that you teach sacred theology [so long as it] does not extinguish the spirit of prayer and devotion [charism]." Sister Laura takes St. Francis' response to mean that education (both learning and teaching) should be used in service of others, particularly those who are marginalized. "This is how I have approached my own educational opportunities and how I taught my students when I was in the classroom," says Sister Laura. "Every day I have an opportunity to help people understand the Gospel vision of service to others, through our FSPA justice work and beyond."

Meet Sisters Kristin Peters and Michele Pettit

Sisters Karen Lueck and Kristin PetersSister Kristin Peters (right) entered into the FSPA community in 2007 and, 10 years later, professed her final vows at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Having earned a master's degree in mental health counseling and a certificate in addictions counseling from Viterbo University in La Crosse, she currently advocates for social justice from Chicago, Illinois. In addition to being a counselor, Sister Kristin is an active member of FSPA's Truth, Healing and Justice team. These teams work on FSPA's movement to dismantle racism and white supremacy within themselves and other areas of influence.

Sister Kristin enjoys being rooted in the FSPA community and connected to the lives of those she accompanies as both a friend and counselor. She values building relationships with marginalized people and communities within our society and is passionate about land justice. She desires to be in right relationship with the Earth community and fulfills this desire through acts of activism, solidarity and stewardship such as composting, gardening, reusing plastics and redistributing food and flowers that would otherwise be thrown away – all ways in which she responds to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the poor. Sister Kristin also lives out Eucharistic presence by practicing contemplation (art and journaling), communal prayer and building strong relationships with fellow members of her FSPA community.

Sister Michele Pettit headshotSister Michele Pettit, a native of Edina, Missouri, professed her first vows as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration on July 25, 2020, at Viterbo University's San Damiano Chapel in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Coming from a family of educators, Sister Michele has taught in the Public Health and Community Health Education program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse since 2009. She joined FSPA as an associate in 2017 and was welcomed into the novitiate program a year later. As a novice, she prepared for her first vows by engaging in intense prayer and study and encountering Christ in others through her ministry at a soup kitchen, a food pantry, an after school program and a humanitarian respite center for refugees on the U.S.-Mexico border.

When asked why she became an FSPA, Sister Michele explained that there were a variety of reasons. "First and foremost, I had a desire for a stronger relationship with God. Second, the sisters were very welcoming, and I admired their commitment to social justice and Gospel living. Third, I had a desire to be less self-centered, to be part of something bigger than myself, to participate in service activities I wouldn't participate in on my own and to live counterculturally. Fourth, I have an appreciation for the Franciscan emphasis on peace, love and care for the Earth. And fifth, I felt at home in the FSPA Adoration Chapel." For Sister Michele, life as a Catholic sister includes "being exposed to diverse forms of prayer including meditation, praying with nature, praying with art and music and spending time with God in the Adoration Chapel. One of my regular practices involves praying while I exercise. I also enjoy praying with my living community on a daily basis. As one of my housemates put it, 'We pray and play together.'"

Meet Sisters Kathy Roberg and Laurie Sullivan

Sister Kathy Roberg headshotSister Kathy Roberg, born in Spokane, Washington, joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at the age of 18. She spent the first 20 years of her ministry teaching first grade before becoming an English as a second language teacher, parish minister and religious education coordinator to Hispanic communities in New Mexico and Washington. In 2014, Sister Kathy returned to Spokane where she now volunteers as an ESL teacher and justice advocate at the House of Charity. Sister Kathy also has a passion for helping refugees and addressing immigration concerns throughout the country.

When asked how she responds to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the poor, Sister Kathy explained that “they are both crying out in extreme pain, and if I am a life-giver, how can I close off my receptiveness?” Having obtained her reverence for Mother Earth from her peace- and justice-oriented father, she found a way to care for our planet while also caring for its most vulnerable inhabitants. In 2015, Sister Kathy began crocheting sleeping mats out of plastic shopping bags to give to those in need. Over the past eight years, she has made 327 mats that not only provide a moisture-resistant barrier to place beneath a sleeping bag or blanket but also help keep plastic bags out of the environment. Each mat is made from 350 bags and, once complete, is given to the homeless in Spokane. “To me, being a Catholic sister today calls me to be open to the voice of inner transformation and to be present to others who are lost in society. I hope I'm sharing an ounce of hope and purpose,” says Sister Kathy.

Sister Laurie Sullivan headshotSister Laurie Sullivan, born in Lake Linden, a small village located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, professed her final vows as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration on Sept. 12, 2020, with her loving family and friends joining the celebration. After living in Michigan for over 45 years, Sister Laurie thought that is where she would spend the rest of her life, but God had other plans for her. Holding a certificate in pastoral studies and a Bachelor of Science in business administration, Sister Laurie currently ministers at WAFER, the largest food pantry serving the La Crosse area. 

Sister Laurie's Michigan upbringing now places her in harmony with her love of God and the beauty of Wisconsin's Northwoods. When asked how she responds to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the poor in her ministry, she expressed, "My spirit and heart have always been drawn to the marginalized and the poor, and they have both taught me a lot. I live simply so that both the Earth and the poor may live. I am conscious of how my day-to-day choices affect both, and I always try to do no harm." For Sister Laurie, being a Catholic sister during this time in Church history means "being a voice, as well as a presence, to those on the margins, even those to whom the church itself may have overlooked or ignored. As Catholic sisters, we assist people in learning to discern and accept the will of a loving and merciful God. Relying on God, Mary and our founders, we seek to follow Jesus' footsteps."

 

Faith in motion

 

Motherhouse Road Trip podcast

Vocation stories from Sisters Katie Mitchell and Eileen McKenzie.

 

Sister Linda: Mother, Grandma, Catholic Sister

 

Sister Sarah: The Invisible Habit

 

Sister Amy: At the wheel

 

Sister Eileen: Acupuncturist

 

Called: Sister Sue

 

Called: the future of religious life

 

Called: Sister Julia

 

Called: Sister Kristin

 

Called: Sister Corrina

 

Called: Sister Sarah

 

Called: Sister Eileen

 

Called to religious life: Sister Amy

 

Called to religious life: Sister Linda

 

Sisters in Ministry: The Gospel in Action

 

On a Mission: Sister Katie Mitchell