Summary
Sister Rita Schilling, ASC passed to eternal life Friday morning, March 3, 2023, at Caritas Center, in Wichita, Kansas. Sr. Rita was 91 years old and had been professed as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ for 70 years.
Sister Rita Schilling, ASC passed to eternal life Friday morning, March 3, 2023, at Caritas Center, in Wichita, KS. Sr. Rita was 91 years old and had been professed as an Adorer of the Blood of Christ for 70 years.
Sister Rita’s parents, Dominic and Frances (Medcalf) Schilling lived in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, a small town of French heritage located a few miles from Ruma, IL. On March 22, 1931, Rita Marie and her twin brother, Robert Lee, joined two older siblings in the family.
Sister Rita graduated from St. Louis University with a BA in theology and, later, from Loyola University in Chicago with an MA in religious education. Her years in ministry had three distinct areas, each one accentuated with a passion for life and sharing God’s love. These were: elementary education, parish ministry and vocation ministry. The first covered 14 years in parish schools in Illinois at St. Matthew, Alton; St Andrew, Murphysboro; St. Mary, Taylorville, and at Immaculate Conception, Columbia. She also taught at St. Lawrence, New Hamburg, MO.
Preceding Sr. Rita in death were her parents, her brothers, Dominic and Robert, and her sister, Lorraine Reizer. She is survived by nieces and nephews and members of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ.
Sister Rita’s Welcoming and Wake Service will be held on Monday, March 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m., with Fr. Tom Welk as presider and homilist. Her cremains will be buried in the community cemetery in Wichita, KS.
Donations in memory of Sr. Rita may be sent to the Adorers at 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, or made online at www.adorers.org.