R.I.P., J.C. native Sr. Rose Ann Kaiser

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Jefferson City native Sister Rose Ann Kaiser, 89, of the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, died peacefully on Sept. 23 at Victory Noll in Huntington, Indiana.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 26 in the Victory Noll Chapel. Burial was in the convent cemetery.

Sr. Rose Ann was born on July 15, 1933, in Jefferson City, a daughter of Lawrence and Johanna (Thessen) Kaiser.

She was part of the former St. Peter High School’s Class of 1951, its largest graduating class, and one of five from that class who entered religious life (four sisters and one brother).

She entered the Congregation of Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters (olvm.org) on Sept. 6, 1960, and professed first vows on Aug. 5, 1963.

Commonly known as Victory Noll Sisters, the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters are a Pontifical Congregation founded in 1922 by Father John J. Sigstein.

They proclaim the Gospel in creative and flexible ways in order to promote the reign of God in justice and peace.

Sr. Rose Ann served as a catechist, pastoral associate and director of religious education in Texas, California, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, Utah, Missouri and Illinois, including as a pastoral associate for Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City from 1990-94.

She was part of a team of sisters who wrote and produced a television series for parents of preschool children.

She served as the coordinator of the sisters’ Community Arts Program in Illinois and on many committees of the Victory Noll congregation, as well as coordinator for the Covenant Associates.

“From the very beginning of our foundation in 1922, associates have been an important part of Victory Noll,” Sr. Rose Ann told The Catholic Missourian in 2010. “They are our partners in mission, men and women who share, in their own setting, the spirit and charism of Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, addressing the needs of the poor and oppressed, working for peace and justice, and reaching out in a variety of ways with their skills, service and prayer to bring healing and reconciliation.” 

At that time, she was working at the Julia Center in Chicago, a welcoming center for immigrants, serving as an advocate for social justice, and representing her congregation at the 8th Day Center for Justice.

“I have learned to appreciate and treasure the richness and variety of the cultures and backgrounds, the giftedness that has contributed so much to this country,” Sr. Rose Ann said in 2010. 

She said of her first 50 years in religious life: “It’s been a joyous, exciting, freeing adventure with ever-expanding new ways of being part of God’s mission and entering deeper into communion with God.”

She was living of the Saint Anne’s Community at Victory Noll at the time of her death.

Surviving are a brother, Larry Kaiser of Phoenix, Arizona; other family members, friends and her fellow Victory Noll Sisters, with whom she shared life and community for 62 years.

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