Journeying with an Amazing Savior

Sister Beverly Heitke, SDS, Reflects on Her Vocation Journey

She thinks of her vocation story as a journey that involved great people, opportunities and challenges. Hers was a maze-like, spiral path with one "yes" leading to another. When she reflects, she can see the hand of God and a pattern that became apparent as the years went on. Today, Sister Beverly Heitke, a Sister of the Divine Savior for over forty years, would title her own response to God's call, Journeying with an Amazing Savior. She has served as a nurse, dentist, administrator, North American provincial leader, international congregational leader, and currently the Province's Co-coordinator of Sponsorship.

All of these ministries involved following her heart and being committed to the dream of making the world a better place as a member of the Salvatorian Sisters. It also meant that she had the skills and the flexibility to respond and adapt as the needs changed.

She is the first to credit her parents, the late Clarence and Irmina Heitke, for inspiring her and affirming her call to religious life: 

"We lived on a farm five miles north of Portage. My parents were people of great faith. This faith was at the core of our home and rural lives. We were taught to pray and to value nature. Our parents drove us to town for weekly religious education classes and had Catholic periodicals in our home. I read about women religious helping poor children and recall wanting to do the same as a doctor," she said.

As a young girl, she was also inspired and impressed by her Sinsinawa Dominican teachers. When she expressed an interest in health care, they suggested she contact the Sisters on the hill in Portage. The Salvatorian Sisters sponsored Divine Savior Hospital and Nursing Home. When she met the Sisters, there was an instant connection. She entered the Congregation in 1953 and completed high school in Milwaukee.

Sister Beverly had dreamed of serving in the African missions. With this goal in mind, she became a registered nurse in 1960 at her Congregation's Salvator Mundi Hospital's School of Nursing in Rome, Italy. Then she returned to the United States to earn a dental degree from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. However, some emerging African nations were wary of outside influences and her plans changed. So, instead she helped establish a dental clinic in Milwaukee's central city, joined a private dental practice and became a Marquette dental instructor.

She was elected a member of the North American Provincial Leadership Team from 1972-75. During this term, another invitation to ministry came with a call from Marquette Dental School's Dean. He asked her to direct the dental clinic, a post she would hold for nearly a decade.

"I worked with wonderful faculty and dental students. The clinic had 150 dental chairs and provided clinical training for the students with faculty supervision. Clients included a wide spectrum of families, students and neighbors of the campus," Sister Beverly added.

But once again her plans shifted. In 1983, she was elected to the international Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Divine Savior based in Rome.

"This invitation to global leadership opened my world to all the cultures of the Salvatorian world. I worked with our Polish Sisters as the Communist Block crumbled and saw the Berlin Wall come down. I also worked in Brazil, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa and experienced the many layers of conflicts and challenges in those regions. Working with our Sisters and people throughout the world gave me a marvelous chance to appreciate other cultures and views," she explained.

In 1996 she returned to Portage and the Madison Diocese and, during a sabbatical year, earned a Certificate in Pastoral Education at Meriter Hospital in Madison. She became a chaplain at Divine Savior Hospital and was happily back home.

Then another call came. Would she consider being the Province's Sponsorship Coordinator with Dr. Frank Probst? This ministry involved collaborating with the administrations and Boards of the Salvatorian Sisters' sponsored institutions. 

"The rest is history. There is a pattern to my calls and responses and I am grateful for each one. The skills I have in administration today were honed in all my previous ministries. And of course it all began with my parents and family," Sister Beverly pointed out.

"If I had not answered that first call, I would never have known how wonderful it is to be part of the Salvatorian Sisters' community. Alone, I could never have made the impact a Congregation does throughout the world. It has been challenging and stretching. My religious vocation has made me a more caring, grateful, competent and responsible person. Journeying with an Amazing Savior has been a call and a blessing."

Note: The Sisters of the Divine Savior sponsor: Divine Savior Healthcare, Portage; Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, Hadley Terrace Senior Apartments and St. Anne's Salvatorian Campus, all in Milwaukee. The Sisters also serve in diverse ministries in the Unites States and world.