By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Last summer a group of Catholic sisters moved from their home in Raytown to St Joseph and later this year they hope to move into a convent near Cathedral.
Pastor of Cathedral Father Steve Hansen says when the convent opened in 2020 as the children's center moved to the old Mosaic Cancer Center building, he began receiving questions about what would be done with the convent.
"And I remember distinctly saying we'll get nuns one day, or sisters, I had no idea where they would come from," Father Hansen tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "Sisters of Jesus the Lord were not on my radar."
Hansen says while the idea to have sisters move into the convent came into his head about three years ago, it wasn't until the fall of 2020 he realized who could use the space
"Specifically, I wonder if the Sisters of Jesus the Lord could live here, because I was standing next to the empty convent and the little children were literally moving out at that time," Father Hansen explains. "It wasn't like I was desperate to do something with the building or something, we could just turn down the heat and all that, but it just kind of crossed my mind as an idea."
Mother Stella of the Sisters in Jesus the Lord says it just so happens when Hansen reached out the sisters were seeking a new home.
"The parish we were at was kind of in its last days and we knew that we were going to have to find a new home and so, yeah," Mother Stella says.
Sisters in Jesus the Lord were founded to help revive the Catholic religion in Russia. They made home in Raytown since 2009 but moved to St. Joseph last summer.
Mother Stella says coming to St. Joe provides many opportunities for the sisters and herself.
"So, there's going to be, as young sisters go through their training and make their vows they'll go off to Russia, but new women will be coming so we should have a steady base of sisters helping locally, while preparing sisters to go to Russia," Mother Stella says. "And, you know, it's always beautiful to have that missionary outlook."
The sisters are currently staying in a furnished pastoral home while renovations take place at the convent. Mother Stella says the hope is to be in the convent by Christmas.
