Sr. Helen Kallus, OBL. OSB.

Sr. Helen Kallus was born in Rutersville,Texas on August 27, 1923.  She was the beloved daughter of the late Richard and Frances (nee Janda) Kallus.  Sister Helen was number 10 out of 11 children. She was the loving sister of the late Ernest, Richard, Louise, Josephine, Martha, George, Louis II, Louis I, Jerry and Edward.  Sister Helen attended school in Texas and joined the oblates immediately following High School at the age of 18.  The oblates take private vows and Sister has been serving God for 67 years.  In the early 1940's, Sister Helen joined a group of women and traveled to Lisle, Ilinois to form the Benedictine Chinese Mission to support the Benedictine priests who were teaching in China.  There they formed the Sisters of St. Scholastica on a plot of 40 acres with a stone house that was used as a barn.  Sister Helen took over the task of running the farm and she created a most productive 40 acre farm with bountiful crops and animals.  With this she fed and clothed the sisters allowing them to continue the support of the Benedictines of the Abbey of St. Procopius.  After about sixty years, she was made the mother of the oblates of St. Scholastica.  When the farm finally became too much for the elderly nuns, she closed the convent and the nuns moved to the serenity of Sacred Heart Convent.  Sister Helen enjoyed many things including eating oatmeal (with milk and honey) for breakfast. Other hobbies included baseball, volleyball, Scrabble, dominoes, jigsaw puzzles, and flower arranging.  She especially enjoyed reading novels and books about the Catholic Saints.  Sister Helen traveled to Canada on pilgrimages at our Lady of the Snows, St. Anne Beaupre in Quebec and St. Joseph’s Shrine in Montreal. Sister Helen was a brilliant and holy woman who followed the Lord's calling.  She will be missed by her family and friends who all loved her dearly. A visitation will be held at Sacred Heart Monastery Chapel in Lisle at 10 AM Thursday, January 11th with a funeral mass to follow at 11 AM.  Interment will be at St. Procopius Abbey Cemetery following the funeral mass.