Sister Dolores Ann Rapp, ASC, of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, died peacefully at 4:20 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. She was 99 years old and had been professed for 83 years.
Sister Dolores Ann was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on March 24, 1927, one of six children in the family of Julius and Margaret (Ampleman) Rapp. Her family attended St. Elizabeth Parish in East St. Louis, Illinois.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in literature from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1949, and her master’s in music literature from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, in 1964. She also studied at St. Louis University in St. Louis, St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, Indiana, and St. Joseph University in Collegeville, Minnesota. She held certificates in education from both Illinois and Missouri.
Sister Dolores Ann possessed a wide variety of talents. She taught, visited, prayed, kept house for a bishop, drove sisters to medical appointments, served as a chaplain in a health center, and ministered in several parishes, both in liturgy and in other needed positions, among them visiting women in the local prison.
Her gift for music included directing chorus and choir and teaching young sisters at Ruma in a program where students in her classes received college credit from St. Louis University for courses taught at Ruma. In addition to teaching at two area high schools: St. Teresa Academy in East St. Louis and Gibault High School in Waterloo, Illinois, she also directed local parish choirs.
She served in pastoral ministry and liturgy at St. Libory Parish in St. Libory, and St. Clare in O’Fallon, both in Illinois. In Missouri she was involved in parish ministry at St. Francis de Sales in Lebanon, Resurrection of Our Lord, as well as South Grand Senior Ministry in St. Louis. For 10 years, her ministry as chaplain was given at St. John Health Center in Springfield, Missouri.
Sister Dolores Ann was an avid reader and kept up on modern theological developments, reading authors like Sr. Joan Chittister, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, Fr. Richard Rohr, Michael Morewood, and Sr. Elizabeth Johnson. She delighted in having conversations with people who shared her appreciation for books that continued to promote renewal of the Church according to Vatican
Council II. She was familiar with the recent encyclicals, particularly Pope Francis’ document, Laudato Si, on Care for our Common Home. She would often sit quietly in the green spaces at Ruma and Benedictine, listening to the songs of the birds and feeling “at one” with nature.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Loretta (Willis) Thien, and Margaret Rapp, her brothers Joseph (Jo Ann) Rapp, Robert (Donna) Rapp, her brother-in-law, Howard Bjounson, nieces, and nephews.
She is survived by her sister Virginia Bjounson, nieces, nephews, and the ASC Community.
Visitation for Sr. Dolores Ann will be in Benedictine Living Chapel on Tuesday, October 20 at 12:15 p.m. for the family, and 12:30 p.m. for the public. Mass will begin at 1:30 p.m. with Fr. Carl Scherrer as the celebrant. After Mass, the funeral procession will travel to the ASC Cemetery in Ruma for burial.
Donations in Sr. Dolores Ann’s memory may be sent to the Adorers at 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, or made online at www.adorers.org.
Adorers of the Blood of Christ, United States Region