Sister Catherine (Mary David) Shippen, ASC,celebrated 70 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at the Wichita Center in Wichita, KS. Sister Catherine made her first profession on July 1, 1955, and her final vows on July 1, 1960. She marked her anniversary with the Eucharistic celebration and a festive dinner with the ASC community.
Sister Catherine was born in Harper, KS, to William and Frances Shippen. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education at Sacred Heart College, now Newman University, in 1962, and her master’s, also in Education, from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK, in 1974.
Her ministry in elementary education in Kansas included All Saints, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Jude, and St. Anne, all in Wichita; St. Joseph in Ellinwood; St. Joseph in McPherson; St. Mary in Aleppo; St. Nicholas in Kinsley; and Angelus in Grinnell. In Oklahoma she taught at St. Joseph in Bison, St. Francis Xavier in Stillwater, and St. Mary in Guthrie. In New Mexico her ministry took her to St. Edward in Carlsbad, and St. Helena in Hobbs. Her only mission in Missouri was Sacred Heart in Sedalia. In addition to classroom teaching, Sr. Catherine often served as organist and director of the adult choir for the parish.
After almost 30 years of teaching, she served at Villa Christi Retreat House in Wichita. For several years her ministry also included clerical services, such as secretary/receptionist at the Wichita Center and at Newman University. She ministered at Via Christi Hospital and volunteered at St. Joseph and St. Teresa Hospitals in Wichita. After 20 years and 10,000 hours of volunteering, Sr. Catherine retired to the Wichita Center where she began Living Mission in Later Life.