The Retired Fund for Religious helps retired religious and their communities with rising healthcare costs
Bella Bailey
Multimedia Correspondent
Benedictine Sister Emmanuel Pieper dedicated her life and ministry to students through art. Teaching grade school and high school art classes, Sister Emmanuel saw firsthand the impact that one person can have on another. Now, in her retirement, she stays busy making art and enjoying life at St. Walberg Monastery, Villa Hills. At 97 years old, however, Sister Emmanuel finds herself in need of additional healthcare, living at the onsite infirmary at St. Walberg Monastery.
Like Sister Emmanuel, tens of thousands of retired religious find themselves in need of additional healthcare, with the median age of nuns in the United States reaching 80 years old. As the aged and infirmed population is on the rise, religious orders are facing difficulties with the increasing cost of additional healthcare. Because of this, over 260 religious communities rely on funds from the Retirement Fund for Religious. The retirement fund for religious has given over $1,000,000,000 to retired religious since their inception in 1988. This year, there will be a second collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious at Masses, December 12-14, so they can continue to provide for those retired religious in need.
“I think I have a wonderful life,” said Sister Emmanuel, “I thank God every morning for a new sunrise and a new day to live in his wonderful world.”
Her vocation story began at baptism, when she was named after her aunt who was a Benedictine Sister. She carried this with her throughout her life. “All my life I had an inclination to enter the monastery,” she said. Sure in her vocation, Sister Emmanuel entered the Order of St. Benedict at 17 years old, where they allowed her to continue her passion for art. She holds both her Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
“I think I was born with a love of beauty, anything beautiful just attracts me so strongly,” she said of her affinity for the craft. Her artwork can be seen at Holy Cross District High School, Covington; St. Henry District High School, Erlanger, and Thomas More University, Crestview Hills.
She shared her love of art with the students she taught, whether in grade school or high school. “My favorite part was seeing how kids could develop,” she said, “seeing people catch on to something, be able to do it, be satisfied with themselves.”
Donating to the second collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will help more sisters like Sister Emmanuel continue their ministry into retirement. Providing funds to those religious communities in need of help to offset healthcare costs.
