January 2008 - Sister Kathleen Kane, OP
In 1973, Sr. Kathleen Kane responded to a plea from the Jesuits in Hays, Montana, to help minister to the Native American population. Thus began a 35-year ministry, tending to the Gros Ventres and Assiniboines on the Fort Belknap Reservation, urban Native Americans in Great Falls, and the Chippewa-Cree on the Rocky Boy Reservation.In the year 2000, Sister Kathleen began ministering to the Chippewa-Cree Native Americans at St. Mary Parish on Rocky Boy Reservation, St. Anthony in Box Elder, and St. Margaret Mary Parish in Big Sandy.
Her ministry presents a daunting schedule. She coordinates volunteers and forms weekly scripture/prayer groups in Box Elder, Montana. She gathers people weekly for activities for the developmentally disabled at Big Sandy, Montana, and performs outreach to the elderly who are homebound, or in hospitals and nursing homes. She coordinates the Montessori-based Catechesis of the Good Shepherd religious formation, provides support for catechists in Big Sandy and Box Elder, provides transportation if needed, and assists with wakes and funerals. She is also a member of the Human Rights Board of Big Sandy, ascertaining the needs, rights, medical and ethical treatment of individuals who are developmentally disabled.
Sister Kathleen is also the Victim Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. She travels to three different parishes which are stretched over 5,000 square miles, where she encounters all of the heartbreaking concerns in this community of poverty, drugs, alcoholism, a high rate of suicide, 75% unemployment, inadequate housing, and people struggling for food, clothing, and transportation. Sister gently ministers to these Native Americans, relying on a small stipend herself from Catholic Extension.
Sister Kathleen found a unique way to reach out to urban Native Americans in Great Falls and address their growing economic, social, and spiritual needs. She began a quilting group for women as a means of providing income, initiated a GED, library, and art program in the Cascade County Jail, and worked with Montana State Human Rights Commission for equal housing opportunities for minorities.Catholic Extension helps support Sister Kathleen Kane and many other dedicated missionaries work hard to bring God's comfort to America's poor and struggling Catholics. Will you consider helping them with a gift today? Please donate now securely. Thank you.