Sister Karen Bricher

Karen was born and raised in St. Charles, Illinois. She attended St. Patrick Grade School and Mt. St. Mary High School. When she began considering a religious vocation during her high school years, she presumed she would enter \the congregation by whom she had been taught, but love entered the picture during her senior year and her thoughts turned to marriage.

Karen first met Tom Bricher at a parish Catholic Youth Association dance. He asked her to dance and she said yes. That would have been the end of the story, but her friends saw them together and saw potential for something more. Not long after that night, Karen found herself in need of a date for a fundraising dance being held in Chicago by the Girls Athletic Association. Karen’s friends called Tom and encouraged him to contact Karen.

Tom and Karen dated for a year and then married. Tom was a farmer and owned a farm in Geneva, which meant a lifestyle change for city girl Karen. While Tom farmed, Karen gathered eggs, tended to piglets, and raised eight children.

Karen’s children attended St. Peter School, where they were taught by Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary. She volunteered where she could, including spending time as a catechist. Involvement led to greater familiarity and friendship with the Sisters.

In their twenty-ninth year of marriage, Tom died after a brief illness, leaving Karen with several children still at home. The youngest was then in high school; the others were either in college or working.

One morning after Mass, Sister Mary Stella approached Karen and asked if she was looking for a job. Karen was working part-time at a doctor’s office, but said she would be interested. She spoke with the Sisters at Holy Heart of Mary Community and became the secretary for the Vocation and Formation Directresses. After she had been working there for a while, Sister Myra Lambert asked if Karen had ever thought about being a religious. The question surprised Karen, who thought she was too old to become a Sister. She entered into discernment with Sister Myra and, after speaking with her mother and children, entered as a candidate.

Sister Karen considers Sister Charlene Cesario an important mentor in her life. Sister Karen was sent to Champaign, Illinois, to live for a six-month period. Sister Charlene served as a Pastoral Associate at a local parish and allowed Sister Karen to shadow her, allowing her to see what pastoral ministry was like.

Sister Karen went on to serve in pastoral ministry herself. She found bereavement ministry particularly fulfilling. While serving at St. Peter Parish in Geneva, she spoke with a local funeral director and convinced him to allow her to meet with parish families at the funeral home to make parish arrangements. This made their lives easier since it eliminated the need to make a separate trip to the church to meet with Sister Karen. When she was on staff at St. Bridget Parish in Loves Park, Illinois, she formed teams of bereavement ministers, who would travel through the whole bereavement process with families. They would meet the family at the time of the death, be with them through the funeral Mass and burial, and remain in touch on the days and weeks that followed.

Faith has been the foundational charism of Sister Karen’s life. Faith has been the glue that has held her family together over the years, and faith forms the common ground on which the religious community stands.