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Sister
Lorena Bolte will be remembered long
and lovingly by many. Her tragic death July 4, 2007, leaves family, friends,
and men and women religious in deep shock. At only 58 years of age she was in
her prime as a sister, leader, and friend of those in her religious community. She
celebrated 25 years of religious profession in 1993.
Sister
Lorena was a master teacher, having
begun her teaching career as an instructor at Luckey
High School in Manhattan KS.
As a missionary in Nigeria,
she taught in Sokoto and in Gusau. During 20 years of missionary service she
nurtured a fledgling indigenous congregation of Dominican Sisters of St.
Catherine of Siena of Gusau, (a foundation of the Dominican Sisters of Great
Bend) and no one rejoiced more than she did when the community grew to more
than 50 sisters and became an independent congregation in April 2007.
Sister
Lorena was a pastoral minister in Goodland KS
where she became very dear to the people of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. When
she was elected Prioress (major superior) of the Great Bend Dominicans, she
assured the local Catholic parish that with the duties of her new office she
would have no time to teach any adult classes. That lasted a couple months and
she couldn’t stand it. Her love of study and teaching drew her back to
instructing adults in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for Prince of
Peace Parish. She also soon found herself accepting another challenge in
teaching on the ITV series for the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City where
students appreciated her intelligence, wisdom, and love of truth.
Sister
Lorena cared about people. She cared
about the spread of the Gospel message. This contributed so much to her
leadership impact at home and abroad. When she was ministering in Nigeria, she
served as Prioress of the congregation of Nigerian Sisters. She was Assistant
Prioress of the Great Bend Dominicans for four years and at the time of her
death she had served one year and one month of a four-year term as Prioress.
Those who worked with her knew her as approachable, good natured, supportive of
the administrative personnel, and very talented and capable. Her sense of humor
showed itself as she delighted in collecting short wisdom sayings – especially
African proverbs – and shared them with her co-workers and staff, e.g., “When
you think little things have no power, you’ve probably never tried to sleep in
a room with a mosquito!”
Her
funeral was attended by friends and co-workers from coast to coast who filled
the chapel to overflowing. It was a day of mixed feelings – gratitude for the
many gifts Sister Lorena had brought
to the United States and the worldwide Dominican Family and a deep feeling of
loss of one so young and vibrant. She served on boards of religious and justice
topics (e.g., the Africa Faith and Justice Network from Washington DC,
and the Ethics Committee of Central Kansas Medical Center). Leaders saw in her
wisdom, compassion, energy, and vision for the future.
Sister
Lorena was Dominican to the core –
loving prayer, study, community, and ministry – especially the Dominican
charism of preaching. She was an avid gardener who liked houseplants around her
and grew great vegetables as well. She is especially grieved by the all the
members of the Great Bend Dominicans and the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine
of Siena of Gusau, Nigeria.
By
Sister Elaine Osborne OP
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