A dinner celebration followed at St. Dominic Parish Center. About 300 parish members and friends gathered to recognize Sister’s 50 years of service. St. Dominic parishioner Bev Glass acted as emcee for the program, which included an official proclamation from the Kansas House of Representatives that acknowledged Sister’s jubilee.

Children from St. Dominic School created cards and performed a song that described Sister and her many works for the parish. The parish presented Catherine Therese with a hand-crafted scrapbook of photos and appreciative notes written by the many people whose lives Sister has touched.

To especially honor Sister’s service to St. Dominic Parish, parishioners purchased a statue of St. Therese the Little Flower. The hand-carved, natural wood statue will be placed in the St. Dominic Parish Center upon its arrival from Italy.

The daughter of John A. (deceased) and Catherine Wolken Paulie, Sister Catherine Therese grew up in rural Greenbush, South Mound and St. Paul, Kansas. In the fall of 1953, Sister Catherine Therese began her initial religious formation with the Sisters of St. Joseph at Mount St. Mary Convent in Wichita. Here she completed her high school education.

On March 19, 1955, she began formal religious life and accepted the name Catherine Therese, which was conferred upon her by Bishop Mark K. Carroll.

Today, Sister laughs when recalling her modest expectations as a novice.

"I went to Mount St. Mary believing I could be one of the housekeepers. I thought it would be fascinating to have a kitchen with running water. Soon after, I found out it was the privileged few who got to be in the kitchen, and the rest of us had to go to work," she said.

Between coursework at Kansas Newman-now Newman University- and St. Mary of the Plains College, Catherine Therese received training for ministry and earned the 1950s certification to teach. She spent several years teaching children at parochial schools in Pittsburg, Lyons and Hutchinson.

"I loved working with kids," Sister said. "Those were very happy years."

Education would become a constant in Sister’s life. At the request of the Sisters of St. Joseph, she completed her Bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1967 at Marquette University in Milwaukee, attending classes wearing her traditional black habit. In less time than most students take to choose a major, Catherine Therese earned both Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Mathematics by 1971 at University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana and St. Louis University, respectively.

She then made haste to St. Mary of the Plains College. Known for her boundless energy, quick mind and servant leadership, Catherine Therese served as both math faculty member and Dean of Academics. She would spend 15 years there between 1968 and 1989.

A St. Mary of the Plains graduate, Karen Bunker of Dodge City, described Catherine Therese as "encouraging, tireless, and always positive. We kids just loved her." Bunker added, "To us, she was CT."

Mike Stein of Dodge City graduated from St. Mary of the Plains in 1985.

"One thing that always impressed me about Sister CT was the level of commitment that she had toward students’ growth and development, both intellectually and spiritually," Stein said. "She was equally dedicated and effective in her work as a mathematics professor and in the area of campus ministry. I was lucky to experience Sister in both settings. Her high energy level and positive attitude were a constant source of inspiration for the students."

Dr. Ray Theis of Wright was a colleague of Catherine Therese in the math department. He remembers her as a special friend and a hands-on leader.

"She was a great leader who was always there for the faculty," Theis said. "She was always there for my family whatever our needs and concerns were. What everybody took for granted, she got done."

In 1984 Catherine Therese took three years away from St. Mary of the Plains to return to Wichita. There she learned computer skills, taught at Wichita State University and helped staff St. Paul Parish and Newman Center. She also found time to help coordinate the diocesan renewal program, "A People Gathered."

Parish ministry began a new chapter in Sister’s life in 1989. She left St. Mary of the Plains for parish work in first Logan and Phillipsburg, then in Ransom and Ness City. When her coordination and administrative skills were needed at the motherhouse, she returned there in 1993 for three years at Mount St. Mary.

An aging portion of the motherhouse building underwent renovation. Catherine Therese helped a committee manage that responsibility. In addition, she led the building committee charged with construction of a new chapel at the Mount, complete with art glass windows that were relocated from St. Mary of the Plains Chapel.

In 1996, the capable and energetic Catherine Therese was once again a parish minister, this time in Claflin and Ellinwood.

In her 25-plus years in the Dodge City Diocese, Sister has served on the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, the Diaconate Commission, the ITV Planning Commission, and the Pastoral Ministry Formation Commission.

Now at sister parishes St. Dominic in Garden City and St. Stanislaus in Ingalls, Catherine Therese continues to juggle with aplomb parish ministry activities like baptism preparation, volunteer recruitment, and parish administration. An educator still, she instructs and coordinates the RCIA program.

Ever keenly aware of what needs to be done, she remains famous for quietly accomplishing vital tasks that other people overlook.

"Sister has an unbelievable combination of gifts," said Mary Calzonetti, St. Dominic parishioner. "You can’t help but wonder what sort of career she’d have had in the secular world if she hadn’t been called to a religious vocation. And yet she’s so down-to-earth, you often see her rocking babies in the Parish Center nursery and taking out the trash."

Giving tribute to Catherine Therese’s dedication as pastoral minister, Father Bahr said, "I’ve had associate pastors, and I’d rather have her."

For Catherine Therese, her work reflects God’s plan. She mused over the last 50 years recently while in her office at St. Dominic Parish Center, a building constructed recently under her leadership and that of Father Joseph Bahr.

"There’s really no limit to the way God chooses ministry," she said. "God just opens opportunities for ministry that we would never think of. My life has been an exciting adventure. If you don’t have God in your life, life is no adventure at all. I’ve gotten a lot more than I’ve given."

And what has she given? A half century of service as a woman religious. An education to young people in both elementary school and college. An abundance of inspiration and example to Kansas Catholics of all ages.

And today, Sister Catherine Therese has still more to give: her hope.

"I hope some young women would say this is a life worth living," she said. "Others have spoken more eloquently than I – that God asks for our availability and gives the corresponding abilities for the opportunities He places in our life – astounding ‘us’ more than anyone. I pray some of our younger women listen to God’s call and experience the roller coaster ride that comes with it."