A funeral Mass for Sister Helen (Mary Ethel) Kiefer, ASC, was celebrated July 18 at the Benedictine Living Community Chapel at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois. Sister Helen died July 12. She was 90 years old and a professed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ for 73 years.
She was one of eight children born to the late Theodore and Bernardine (Eftink) Kiefer in Oran, Missouri, on March 29, 1932. She made her first profession on July 1, 1949, and final vows on July 1, 1954.
Sister Helen’s higher education accomplishments began with a certificate in childcare from Saint Louis University in 1951. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Kansas Newman College (now Newman University) in Wichita, Kansas, in 1971. She became certified in pastoral care in 1973 and earned her master’s in elementary education in 1975, both from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She also held teaching certificates for the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas.
Burial was at the convent cemetery in Ruma, Illinois.
