Sister Elizabeth Ahrens

Witty, interested in others

Frank and Lucille (Rogers) Ahrens welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth Ann on May 20, 1932. Her siblings included a sister and two brothers. When she was three, another brother was born. Her family moved to a larger home near Cathedral Parish where Elizabeth began her schooling and met the Sisters of St. Joseph. After morning kindergarten, too young to walk home alone, she sat in her sister Mary’s eighth grade classroom until lunchtime. Afternoons were spent in the first grade classroom.

Elizabeth remembers her childhood as a very happy time. Two of her favorite teachers at Cathedral were Sisters Francis Borgia Robillard (4th) and Joan Marie Gleason (6th). Her family moved to Saint Teresa Parish, also staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Her sister, Susie, was born when Elizabeth was 13. Though her mother insisted on her full name Elizabeth, once she was playing basketball for St. Roch High or her parish, she became Liz or Lizzy. (Her sister, Susie, who couldn’t say “L”, called her Dizzy!)

Considering her future, she decided she wanted to become a priest but that wasn’t possible. So, following her mother’s saying, “If you can’t have what you want, be happy with what you’ve got,” she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 15, 1950. On March 19, 1951, she received the habit and the name Sister Robert Francis. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history (1959) from Fontbonne College and a master’s degree in history from St. Louis University (1964). Later, she attended the University of California, Los Angeles to earn hours in elementary education. She also held life certifications in religious education from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and in elementary education and junior high social studies from Missouri.

S. Elizabeth ministered in elementary education in St. Louis at Nativity of Our Lord (1953), St. Margaret of Scotland (1955), St. Roch (1956), Immacolata (1960) and Providence Junior High (1962). She then taught junior high students at Sacred Heart Central in Indianapolis, Indiana (1964) and at St. Rose of Lima in Houston, Texas (1965).

In 1966, S. Elizabeth found herself back in St. Louis, teaching and serving as principal at Holy Name School. That was followed by the same position at St. Edward’s in 1968. In 1971, she became principal at Bishop Healy. For the 1972-73 school year, she returned to Indianapolis, to teach junior high at Holy Angels. She then came back to St. Louis to minister as principal at St. Margaret of Scotland (1973) and teach junior high at Holy Rosary (1976).

Sister Elizabeth transitioned to parish work in 1977, serving as parish minister at St. Elizabeth Parish in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1981, she earned a certificate in theology from the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago. She was then appointed religious education director at Holy Trinity School in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1984, in St. Louis, she began serving as education coordinator at Villa Maria Center, before returning to pastoral ministry at St. Mark Evangelist Parish (1987). Then, in 1988, S. Elizabeth became director of religious education for Sacred Heart Parish in Festus, Missouri.

Beginning in 2000, Sister Elizabeth was a member of the Community Life Staff at Nazareth Living Center until her 2013 retirement. Since 2015, she resided at Nazareth Living Center carrying out her mission of prayer and presence.

Associate Phil Braasch remembers, at an associate meeting at Nazareth, they were discussing what it was like for
S. Elizabeth years earlier. He asked about her time in Houston, Texas:

She looked me square in the eye, with a very serious look on her face … and politely said, 'Phil, you know I have dementia, why did you ask me that question?' Liz stared down at the floor for a second, and then proceeded to talk about her time in Houston for a good 15 minutes.

By Sister Helen Oates