Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Celebrates Diamond Jubilee

Sister Marlou Ricke was born in Carroll, Iowa. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with joint minors in English and speech/drama and a master’s degree in elementary education with a focus on teaching and reading from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa.  Sister Marlou ministered as a primary school teacher in Loyal in Wisconsin and Cedar Rapids, West Point (Marquette Catholic Schools) and Spencer in Iowa.  She then moved to Oklahoma, teaching in Tulsa from 1982 to 1983 and serving as a director of religious education in Stillwater from 1983 to 1989 in Stillwater.  With a master’s degree in expressive therapies from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sister Marlou ministered in Minnesota: Long Lake and Minneapolis (Bywood East Health Care) for four years and as a pastoral minister in Inver Grove Heights (St. Patrick Church) for one year. From 1997 to 2004, she ministered as an expressive therapist, spiritual director and workshop leader at Prairiewoods Franciscan Retreat Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She then moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving as a RCIA director at St. Patrick Parish. In 2018, Sister Marlou moved to Villa St. Joseph in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she ministers in spiritual direction.

A jubilee celebration was held at Villa St. Joseph on May 5.

Based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are women religious engaged in furthering the work of the Catholic Church and the Gospel. Their partners in ministry, including affiliates and prayer partners, join them in service of God's mission. The sisters work in the United States and internationally in varied ministries, collaborating to minister in areas of greatest need, living the Gospel through contemplation and action. Visit FSPA online at fspa.org.