Sister Dolores Ann Rapp, ASC, celebrated 81 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ on Monday, July 1, 2024, at Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. She marked her anniversary with the Eucharist and a reception. She made her first profession on July 1, 1943, and her final vows on July 1, 1948.
Sister Dolores Ann was one of six children in the family of Julius and Margaret (Ampleman) Rapp. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music theory from Webster University in St. Louis in 1949 and her master’s in music literature from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL in 1964. She also studied at the Gregorian Institute of America at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN, in 1954.
Sister Dolores Ann’s varied ministries included teaching music for over 20 years, living in a house of prayer, housekeeping at the bishop’s residence, visiting in parishes and prisons, serving as a chaplain, and volunteering as needed in community service. For 15 years she taught music at the Ruma Center, an extension site of Saint Louis University. She also taught music and directed the choir at St. Teresa Academy in East St. Louis and at Gibault High School in Waterloo, both in Illinois.
She lived in the Sisters’ Cloister, a community devoted to prayer, in New Riegel, OH. In her ministry as housekeeper at the Bishop’s Residence in Belleville, IL, she served two different bishops. She was a parish visitor at St. Libory Parish in St. Libory, IL, and at St. Clare in O’Fallon, IL. She was a parish minister at St. Francis de Sales in Lebanon, MO, Resurrection of Our Lord in St. Louis and chaplain at St. John’s Health Center in Springfield, MO. She held the position of Leader of Parish Renewal for Small Group Faith Sharing at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in St. Louis, MO. Her pastoral outreach also extended to the elderly at South Grand Senior Ministry in St. Louis.
Sister Dolores Ann currently resides at Benedictine Living Community where she is Living Mission in Later Life. She continues to be an avid reader, particularly concerning current theological developments, including Laudato Si, the encyclical by Pope Francis on Care for Our Common Home.