Latest News
Congratulations to Sister Peg Spindler, CSA, Executive Director of Sojourner Truth House! She received an award during a Mother's Day program honoring local leaders of domestic abuse shelters.
EAST CHICAGO | When newly-named Nazareth Home Foster Mother/Director Jean Bowman welcomed open house guests April 19, she received a blessing from a very special guest The Most Rev. Dale J. Melczek, bishop of the Diocese of Gary.
August 12, 1930 - May 1, 2011
Sister Clarence Caspermeyer, PHJC passed away on May 1, 2011 at the Catherine Kasper Home, Donaldson, Indiana. She was born to John and Johanna Caspermeyer on August 12, 1930 in Quincy, Illinois. She entered the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ community and professed her first vows on June 25, 1951. She was celebrating her 60-year jubilee this year.
The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation received a generous bequest from the Estate of Dennis L. Donovan on April 13, 2011.
Catherine Kasper Place
Fort Wayne, Indiana, was the town where it all began. The Poor Handmaids of Dernbach, Germany answered Bishop John Henry Luers’ call for help in 1868. Immigrants in the Fort Wayne Diocese needed assistance integrating into their new community. Eight Sisters were sent to serve. Their sacrifice and dedication started a ministry of helping immigrants adapt to life in the United States. The work continues today, nearly 150 years later.
Download the Spring 2011 edition of Word Gathering (Volume 32 No. 1)
Sister Maris Krimmel, PHJC celebrated her 100th birthday (That's 36,525 days!) on March 8 with many friends and family at the Catherine Kasper Home. Still very active and energetic, she greeted each guest in the receiving line as they extended their well wishes.
Raquel Castro and Sr. Margaret Anne Henss, PHJC attended the annual REACH U.S. Technical Assistance Workshop in Atlanta, GA. on March 9-11, 2011 They were one of four presenters at the conference highlighting the REACH/Alcance program in Lake County.
September 29, 1926 - February 26, 2011
Sister Cecelia Bianchino, PHJC passed away on February 26, 2011 at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth, Indiana. She was born to Daniel and Josephine (Inorio) Bianchino on September 29, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. She entered the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ community and professed her first vows on June 25, 1953.
Sister Cecelia ministered at various entities as a bookkeeper, accountant, Director of Finance and supervisor. From 1977 to 1990 she served as a librarian in schools in Illinois, Minnesota, and Indiana. In 1994 she began serving the Poor Handmaid community in the Donaldson archives. Sister Cecelia retired in 2006.
May Sister Cecelia rest in peace!
Memorial contributions may be made to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, PO Box 1, Donaldson, IN 46513.
"Holy Haberdashery, It's Batman!"
Catherine Kasper Home staff and residents were entertained and educated by the Indiana Batman, Bob Walton. Bob and Ann Walton are wildlife rehabilitation experts from Going Bats in Huntertown, Indiana and they specialize in BATS!
"EGads!" There's a deep prejudice against these furry little creatures that is burned in the American psyche. Was it one too many vampire movies, too much Hitchcock and witches? Why do these shy creatures conjure up thoughts of danger and primordial fear? As a species, they have gotten a bad rap!
Catherine's 5 Star Accolade
U.S. News & World Report has recognized Catherine Kasper Home as a 5-Star-Best Nursing Home. A 5-Star rating is the highest overall rating from the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Always a Big Hoopla at the Maria Center
In January, residents took a break from the winter blues and attended an event called “The Big Hoopla.” They were asked to dust off a hat for the occasion. Accordion music played in the background while everyone enjoyed games of chance and sharing some sweet treats.
The Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center, in honor of its 25th Anniversary, is sponsoring a concert performed by the South Bend Symphonic Choir on Sunday March 6, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. EST in the Ancilla Domini Chapel at Donaldson, Indiana.
In 1986 Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center, a ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, opened its doors and served approximately 2700 people. Today, the Center serves approximately 10,000 people per year. Lindenwood offers a variety of sponsored programs and retreats for people of all faiths. Its facilities are available for rent to churches, schools, civic organizations or corporations for meetings, conferences, educational workshops, training and staff development programs and personal faith development.
Who we are is defined somewhat by where we live. Emotional attachments to our neighborhoods are understandable because neighborhoods are where we put down our roots.
One of the things MoonTree Community’s early Focus Groups said repeatedly, prior to the razing of old MoonTree Lodge, was “save the ambience of the place.” Consequently, the new MoonTree Lodge architecture has a gabled barnlike appearance with timber-framed interior.
Baritone, Stephen Lancaster, and Organist, Kevin Vaughn will perform in the Ancilla Domini Chapel at the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ Ministry Center on Sunday January 23, 2011. The free concert will begin at 3:00 p.m. EST.
Stephen Lancaster is a versatile artist and teacher. He has sung operatic roles ranging from Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus) to Schaunard (LaBoheme) in appearances with the Arbor Opera Theater, Motor City Lyric Opera, Great Lakes Lyric Opera, University of Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Notre Dame, and the American Institute for Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He is assistant Professional Specialist in voice at the University of Notre Dame. In the summer of 2009, he served on the voice faculty of the Franco-American Vocal Academy in Perigord, France.
Mr. Lancaster appears frequently in concert, with credits including Haydn’s Nelsonmesse and Fauré’s Requiem with the South Bend Symphony, and has sung various concert roles by Vaughan Williams. A passionate proponent of the art song, he has made guest appearances at universities in the United States and Canada. Mr. Lancaster holds a D.M.A. in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, and has studied at the University of Notre Dame (M.M.), Moody Bible Institute (B.Mus.), and Oberlin Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute.
Mission Outreach, a humanitarian effort of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis in Springfield, recently sent off its 200th container of donated medical supplies and equipment.
The container was sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ for the St. Ann Mission Hospital in Meru, Kenya. On hand to celebrate the sending off of the supplies were Poor Handmaids, Sister Jolise May and Sister Mary Jo Shingler.
Sister Jolise, who is general superior of the order and resides in Germany, took a few minutes to talk with the group of volunteers who had come in to help load the shipment. She explained that the Poor Handmaids have been in Kenya for a little over 15 years.
Meg Distler & Minn Myint Nan Tin
When Burmese refugees arrive in Fort Wayne, the federal government provides a few months’ worth of meager assistance. But it typically takes three to five years to understand American culture, learn the language and become self-sufficient.
Many people have stepped forward to help refugees make Fort Wayne their home. But two people stand apart for their tireless dedication to helping Burmese refugees, and that is why Meg Distler and Minn Myint Nan Tin are The Journal Gazette’s Citizens of the Year.
Several years ago, leaders from beneficiary agencies of the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation went to Distler, the foundation’s executive director, and said, “We’ve got a problem.” The State Department had announced an increase in the number of Burmese refugees coming to Fort Wayne. The impending arrivals threatened to break resources already stretched thin.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
4:00 pm (est)
Ancilla Domini Chapel
Join the Sisters and PHJC residents for a Taizé prayer service. All are welcome to attend.
Taizé prayer is meditative in character. Simple repetitive chants anchor the prayer time together and becomes a calming influence during this hectic pre-Christmas season. Songs of praise and thanksgiving frame readings from the Psalms and Scriptures. The focus is on songs that celebrate the Light of Christ. Therefore the symbols of darkness and light play an important part in this celebration.
A period of silence extends personal communion with God during the service and short petitions unite the assembly with the entire human family. For the history and other information about Taize click here.
June 21, 1914 - December 7, 2010
Sister Jeanette Cyr, PHJC passed away on December 7, 2010 at the Catherine Kasper Home, Donaldson, Indiana. She was born to Stephen and Milanese (Patnaude) Cyr on June 21, 1914 in Fowler, Indiana. She entered the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ community and professed her first vows on June 25, 1933.
Sister Jeanette began ministering in 1933 as a teacher at Angel Guardian Orphanage in Chicago. From 1937 to 1974 she served at various PHJC ministries as an office manager or bookkeeper. From 1974 to 2001 she ministered to the elderly in Chicago. Sister Jeanette retired to the Catherine Kasper Home in 2001.
May she rest in peace!
Memorial contributions may be made to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, PO Box 1, Donaldson, IN 46513.
December 31, 1922 - December 4, 2010
Sister Loretta Volk, PHJC passed away on December 4, 2010 at the Catherine Kasper Home, Donaldson, Indiana. She was born Ernestine Volk to Anton and Catherine (Kuenstler) Volk on December 31, 1922 in Wendelin, Illinois. She entered the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ community and professed her first vows on June 25, 1947.
Sister Loretta is the sister of Sister Antoinette Volk, PHJC and the cousin of Sister Linda Volk, PHJC.
Sister Loretta ministered in education as a teacher and/or principal from 1947 to 1991 in various schools Indiana and Illinois. From 1991 to 2002 she was a Sister Hostess at either St. Mary Medial Center in Gary or St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago. Indiana. Sister Loretta retired to the Catherine Kasper Home in 2002.
May she rest in peace!
Memorial contributions may be made to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, PO Box 1, Donaldson, IN 46513.
The 2010 Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ Raffle Was a Success.
The PHJC Raffle was a success, thanks to all of you who bought tickets and/or donated prizes for the event. Prizes have been sent to the lucky winners. Through your partnership with us in this annual event $15,000 will be distributed to PHJC ministries to those in need. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
P.O. Box 1; 9601 Union Road
Donaldson, IN 46513
(574) 936-9936
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