Sister Rosaria Kaiser, SDS
Reflection on 80 years of Profession

Jesus, Divine Savior,
May each day of 2006
Be a day of prayer,
Love and gratitude for
The grace of my vocation.
Thank you, Jesus, for these
80 years. Amen.

Each day Sister Rosaria Kaiser, SDS, says this prayer. Gratitude marks the life and ministries of Sister Rosaria, a Sister of the Divine Savior, who will celebrate eighty years of religious profession this fall. She is the longest professed Salvatorian Sister in the entire world of more than 1,240 Salvatorian sisters. “I am grateful that God has been good to my family and to me in religious life. I feel God is helping and that He is close,” Sister Rosaria said.

She entered the Congregation at 13 in 1923 and made her First Profession of Vows in 1926 when she was sixteen.  Her parents were farmers near Cadott, Wisconsin, and she was the fourth of nine children. She had her parents’ blessing to enter the convent and has fond memories of her caring and hard-working parents. She laughs when she recalls that one brother was sure she would return home in two weeks. Family members will celebrate her 80^th Jubilee with her in September in Milwaukee. “They are all happy for my religious vocation. My family has meant very much to me,” she said.

Sister Rosaria taught in elementary schools but her major ministry was at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. She taught mathematics for twenty-five years from 1957-82. Many students recall her patience and excellence. “I did not have math anxiety because of Sister Rosaria. Sometimes she would explain a math concept five times and was always patient. She also incorporated participative learning principles. She was always ahead of her time,” a DSHA alumna pointed out.

Sister Margaret Bosch, SDS, agrees. “For many years I served on the Divine Savior and Divine Savior Holy Angels faculty with Sister Rosaria. Many a student shared with me what a patient and gifted math teacher she was. Even today if I meet her former students, they often ask about Sister Rosaria. She was an inspiration to me of the care and concern a good teacher has for each student.”

“I loved teaching mathematics. I tried to make it understandable for every student. I think teaching math was my great joy,” Sister Rosaria recalled.

For many years, Sister crocheted afghans—at least 100. Today she crochets baby blankets for family, friends and for the Christ Child Society of Milwaukee. “When they called and asked, I thought I would be happy to do it for the babies and the Child Jesus.” Prayer is another ministry of Sister Rosaria. She prays daily for her Sisters, her extended family and for acceptance of God’s plans for her life.

“I am so grateful for my call to religious life. I have dedicated my life to the Savior and feel close to Christ. I knew from my early years that I wanted to be a Sister and a teacher.”

The Salvatorian Sisters gratefully celebrate her faithfulness to God’s call and her presence among us.