Sister Ann (Ann Therese) Fearday, ASC

Sister Ann (Ann Therese) Fearday, ASC, celebrated 60 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ on September 22, 2026, at Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois. Sister Ann made her first profession on July 1, 1966, and her final vows on April 2, 1972, both in Ruma, Illinois. She marked her anniversary with a Mass in the chapel at Benedictine Living Community, followed by a reception for sisters and her family.

Sister Ann was born in Teutopolis, Illinois, to Raymond and Luella Fearday. She received her bachelor’s degree in theology from St. Louis University in 1969, and her master’s degree in Adult Education from Antioch College in Austin, Texas in 1975. She attended the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio, Texas, and the Maryknoll Center for Missions in Maryknoll, New York. She was authorized to practice Natural Medicine through her certification from the Bolivian Society of Traditional Medicine, earned in 2000.

Sister Ann’s ministry began as a classroom teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Columbia, Illinois, and Our Lady of Lourdes School in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Well-suited by personality and talent, she then began pastoral work at Nuestra Senora de Fatima Parish in La Paz, Bolivia, integrating Vocation ministry with parish work.

After spending a year in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, serving as a Witness for Peace, Sr. Ann returned to La Paz and founded Salud Integral, Sangre de Cristo (Integrated Health, Blood of Christ), an organization designed to serve the whole person. As Pastoral Coordinator, she expanded the program to the Northern Peripheral zone of La Paz. Here she coordinated a rural project designed to improve children’s nutrition and leadership abilities. She served as president of Salud Integral, Sangre de Cristo until her return to Illinois in July 2021.

Sister Ann resides at Benedictine Living Community. Her outreach projects in the Belleville area includes being a Hospice volunteer. She joins the Hispanic community in the Sunday afternoon liturgy at the Shrine Chapel, and she accompanies this Latino group. Sister Ann has been appointed to the Diocese of Belleville’s Commission of Immigration where she brings her knowledge and understanding to the table.

Her favorite hobby is weaving, and she has created more than 120 pieces of this art.