Sister Helen Lindsey, ASC

Sister Helen Lindsey, ASC, celebrated 70 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ at the Wichita Center on Sunday, May 21, 2023. She made her first profession on July 1, 1953 and her final vows on July 1, 1958. She marked her anniversary with a meal with the ASC community and a Eucharistic celebration at the Wichita Center.

Sister Helen was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma, to Archie and Doris (Rinehart) Lindsey. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Benedictine Heights College in Guthrie in 1951. She earned her certificate in Art Therapy through the Prairie View Mental Health Centre Program in Newton, KS in 1982, and her Master of Fine Arts from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1963.

Sister Helen taught middle grades for a few years before being named assistant professor of art at Newman University (formerly Kansas Newman/Sacred Heart College). She served in the art department for 25 years. She brought to her classes the richness of her studies in Italy where she spent several months at the University of Florence in 1969, concentrating on language and cultural studies. She also studied for a semester at the Instituto de Storia Dell’Arte in Florence in 1970 where she did independent work on Carl Jung’s archetype/symbol/myth/creative unconscious.

Before beginning a new ministry, Sister Helen, who was one of only three children, spent several years caring for her mother. She later coordinated the Forever Learning Institute’s Harvest House Program, a service of Catholic Charities in Wichita, for 15 years.

Sister Helen began Living Mission in Later Life in 2004 at the Wichita Center, where she served as librarian. She continues to reside at the Center.