The Impact of Sister Eone Kling

Catholic Sisters Week - March 8-14, 2023

How Sister Eone Kling Impacted My Life

“Preach the Gospel always – and if necessary, use words.”

This profound saying is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi – and has been lived out by countless Rochester Franciscans. This is how three of these Franciscan Sisters – Sisters Eone, Edmund, and Leontius – made an impact in my life without saying a word.

– Carol Swanson, College of Saint Teresa, Class of 1978

Born in 1905, Sister Eone grew up in Kellogg, Minnesota. Before answering God’s call to the religious life, in 1936, she worked as a librarian in the NYC public library system. After entering the Rochester Franciscan Community, she obtained advanced degrees in library science from Columbia University and the University of Michigan. Her life as a Rochester Franciscan spanned 51 years until her death in 1987. Throughout her life, her leadership and insights were highly valued. She wrote for prestigious library journals and served on many non-profit boards – including as President of the National Catholic Library Association.

While I attended the College of Saint Teresa, Sister Eone was Library Director – a role she held from 1938-1976. I would see her at all-hours working away in her small, cubby-hole of an office in the back of the Periodicals Room on the main floor. As I searched for periodical references for term papers or studied for upcoming tests, I’d see Sister Eone bent over her desk procuring new materials, updating records, and quietly doing the endless tasks of a librarian. I was always impressed by her work ethic and diligence.

Then on a chilly autumn morning, I saw something unusual and beautiful from my dorm window: Below me was Sister Eone, walking the grassy area between the Tau Center and Maria Hall, picking up sticks and litter. She was dragging a large black plastic bag that wiped the dew off the grass as she went along – leaving a lovely serpentine pattern in the grass as she performed this simple act of beautification.

The sight of her loving care of the earth and her humble service moved me to tears. Brother Sun had barely risen and Sister Eone was up making our world a more beautiful place.

Subsequently, I saw her doing similar things demonstrating her care for creation. She modeled, for me, the importance of being dedicated to your assigned tasks (as she was in the library), the humility of quiet service to others, and caring for creation by always leaving things better than you found them.

“Ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what God has made.” – Romans 1:20

Reflections from College of Saint Teresa Alumnae

The College of Saint Teresa (CST) was a Catholic women's college in Winona, Minnesota. Previously a women's seminary, it became a college in 1907 and was operated by the

Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota until its closing in 1989.

In recognition of Catholic Sisters Week, we asked several alumnae to share their memories of the Sisters serving at CST and the impact it made on their lives.