Sister Olivia (Mary Nora) Woltering, ASC, celebrated 65 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ on July 1, 2025, in the chapel of Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL. She made her first profession on July 1, 1960, and her final vows on July 1, 1965, in Ruma, IL. She marked her anniversary with the Eucharist and a reception with the ASC community.
Sister Olivia was born in Highland IL, to Aloys and Mary (Geiger) Woltering. She received her bachelor’s degree in theology from St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO, in 1970. She also studied at the University of Missouri and Metro College in St. Louis. She earned a Certificate in Food Service from the Dakota County Area Vocation Technical Institute in Rosemont, MN, in 1985.
Sister Olivia’s ministry as a teacher of primary grade students included St. Albert the Great in Fairview Heights, St. Joseph in Olney, Holy Family in Cahokia, and St. Andrew in Murphysboro. At St. Albert the Great, Holy Family, and St. Andrew, she also taught in the after-school classes for children who were not in the regular school religion program. For more than seven years she served as Houseparent at Catholic Children’s Home in Alton, IL. Her community service included being Co-Director for the ASC Associate program in the former Ruma province.
During her more than 20 years in Dietary departments, she held the position of Supervisor at Mary Queen and Mother Center, and the pre-novitiate house of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, both in St. Louis, and the Oblate Novitiate in Godfrey, IL. Her work in dietary also included the Loretto Convent, Incarnate Word Hospital, and the Little Sisters of the Poor, all in St. Louis, and the Ruma Center. While in the Center, she also assisted with office duties, such as staffing the Center’s switchboard; she was also a reliable chauffeur for sisters with medical appointments.
Sister Olivia began Living Mission in Later Life at the Ruma Center, then at Benedictine Living Community when the retired sisters at Ruma transitioned to the Shrine as their residence. In this new venue, her culinary experience, especially in large houses, proves invaluable in helping to organize space, order food, and create an attractive buffet for special events.