Special to The Message
The Sisters of St. Francis will honor the 2025 Jubilarians during a July 27 celebration at the motherhouse in Oldenburg. The honorees include two Sisters who ministered in the Diocese of Evansville. Sister Irma Arnold celebrates her 60th anniversary, while Sister Kathleen Branham marks 25 years as an Oldenburg Franciscan.
Sister Irma Arnold (formerly Sister Marie Edward), an Evansville native, entered community on Feb. 3, 1966, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1973. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Marian College in Indianapolis and a master’s from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. Sister Irma taught at Catholic schools in Missouri and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis before ministering at St. Wendel, St. Wendel, and at St. James, Haubstadt, where she continues to serve. Sister Irma resides with her sister, Sister Bridget, in Evansville.
Sister Kathleen Branham, from Indianapolis, entered community on Aug. 26, 2000, and professed final vows on Aug. 11, 2007. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Marian University in 2006. Sister Kathleen ministered in the Diocese of Evansville as program manager for Community Partners at Pathways Youth Shelter, and foster care and post adoption coordinator at The Villages. She also served as CPS investigator at the Department of Child Services, Indianapolis, and in social work at St. Joseph Orphanage, Cincinnati, Ohio. From 2019-2024, Sister Kathleen was vocation director for the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg. She currently is director of database administration for the National Religious Vocation Conference.