Sister Mary Ellen (Savio) Auffert, 90, a Benedictine sister of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kans., died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. The vigil service will be Sunday, November 3, at 7 p.m. in the monastery chapel, and the Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated there Monday, November 4, at 10:30 a.m.
Sister Mary Ellen was born on March 21, 1934, in Parnell, Missouri, one of four children and only daughter of John and Rachel Hovenkotter Auffert. She entered the Benedictine Sisters in Atchison in 1954, and taught elementary grades for 13 years. She earned a degree in elementary education from Mount St. Scholastica College in 1964. She became a missionary in Mineiros, Goias, Brazil, and did pastoral and catechetical ministry there from 1967-1975. After she returned to Atchison, she did library work and campus ministry at Benedictine College, and food service at the monastery. Sister Mary Ellen returned to Brazil in 1983 and helped with hospital and bookstore ministry for three years. She returned to care for her parents, and later did pro-life ministry and founded Pro-Life Religious International to give aid to those working in pro-life activities. She also did pastoral ministry in Seneca, Kan., for a period before becoming principal of the elementary school in Tecumseh, Neb., in 2004. In all, she was blessed with nearly seventy years of devoted monastic profession.
Sister Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her parents John and Rachel Auffert and her brothers, Leo and Charles. She is survived by her brother Philip, numerous nieces, nephews and her monastic family. Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home (www.arensbergpruett.com) is in charge of arrangements.
