Sister Kathleen Lunsmann, IHM: “Reaching out with your talents”

Though Sister Kathleen Lunsmann always felt the call to religious life, the decision to join a congregation became clearer to her after high school. It was at Marywood University, where she was studying International Business, that Sister Kathleen discovered which congregation was right for her.

“I remember meeting IHM Sisters on the campus of Marywood my freshman year and thinking, ‘Wow, they all seem so happy,’” she says.

“It wasn’t that I had never known happy sisters before, but my experience of religious women so far was that sisters were often tired, usually overworked and quite stern. During my college years, as I became friendly with more IHMs I realized that my first impression proved correct—they really are happy! That was when I knew that the IHM Congregation was the one for me.”

In going through the process for entrance to the Congregation, Sister Kathleen’s greatest concern was ministry. At the time, she was studying management and finance and truly felt that her talents were in the business field. She was fearful that she would be called upon to do something outside of her field, something for which she was not prepared.

“In conversations with the Vocation Director, she assured me that the Congregation would use my gifts and talents and together we would discern the ministry to which God was calling me,” says Sister Kathleen. “She shared with me the various ministries in which the IHM Sisters were involved and gave examples of how my management and business skills could be used to help further the IHM mission.”

Sister Kathleen found that in sharing her concerns, her vocation director was able to help her work through those fears. “She showed me that in answering a call to religious life, a world of opportunities to serve is available. I needed only to say yes.”

Sister Kathleen currently serves as the President of Supporting Our Aging Religious.