Rita Ann Schmitz was a Columbus native through and through. She was born at Main and 22nd Street and was always proud of her education at Saint John the Evangelist Elementary School and Saint Joseph Academy. (Hers is an educational heritage shared by only one other Sister in our Congregation, Sister Martha Eckstein, who went to those two schools many years after Rita and both were aware of that connection.) Rita kept up with both grade school and high school classmates attending gatherings and exchanging letters and phone calls often.

Her association with the Joliet Franciscans came when she was a youngster, and her mother, Sarah “Sadie” Scullen Schmitz, mentored Louise Gillivan. Louise (later our Sister Mercia), having lost her parents, was responsible for caring for her younger siblings, particularly her brother Jimmy. Louise Gillivan sought out Rita’s mother for advice because the Schmitz boys were Jimmy’s age. It was through Mercia’s choice to join our Congregation at almost 30, that Rita got to know our Sisters.

Read More About Sister Rita’s Life

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Sister Rita or another Joliet Franciscan Sister, please click here:  Remembering our Deceased Sisters.