Sister Raphael Ann Drone, ASC, celebrated 65 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in the chapel of Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. She made her first profession on July 1, 1960, and her final vows on July 1, 1965. She marked her anniversary with the Eucharist and a reception with the ASC community.
Sister Raphael Ann was born in Ridgway, IL, to Clarence and Marcella (Koester) Drone. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO in 1971, and her master’s in Pastoral Theology from Loyola University in Chicago in 1999. She also earned a certificate in Religious Formation from the Institute for Religious Formation (IRF) in St. Louis in 1980.
Sister Raphael Ann’s ministry was spent as a teacher and a missionary. She taught in elementary schools in Illinois at Saints Peter and Paul in Waterloo, Holy Family in Cahokia, and also at Guardian Angel in Oran, MO. She taught secondary students at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, IL, where she was a Religious Educator. She spent several months at the Catholic Children’s Home in Alton, IL, as a houseparent.
She spent nearly 20 years as a missionary in Liberia, West Africa. In Grand Cess she was an administrator of St. Patrick’s elementary school. In Garnersville she served in administration at St. Michael’s High School. For several years she served as the Cape Palmas Diocesan Coordinator of Schools based in Grand Cess. Later she joined the priests of the South African Missions (SMA) in Tubmanburg Bomi Hills in their catechist training and programs for adult formation. For several months she helped the SMA missionaries in their efforts to train lay ministers in connection with the Pastoral Center in Gbamga. She was also an Advisor/English teacher at the seminary.
When she returned from Liberia, Sr. Raphael Ann worked for several years with the SMA Fathers in Tenafly, New Jersey, preparing supplies for shipment to African Missions.
Sister Raphael Ann currently resides at Benedictine Living Community where she is Living Mission in Later Life.