Sister Andr Burkhart marks 50 years as a nun

By By Ida Brown / staff writer
Sept. 18, 2004
When a Catholic grade school teacher predicted a life devoted to religion for Sister Andr Burkhart, the then seventh-grader would not hear of it.
Five years later, Burkhart entered the Sisters of Saint Francis in Oldenburg, Ind., to begin what she today considers something she was supposed to do.
Golden Jubilee
On Sunday, Burkhart will celebrate 50 years as a sister with a Golden Jubilee Mass and reception at St. Patrick Catholic Church.
And true to form for Burkhart, her celebration was almost upstaged by other events.
Even Burkhart's temporary profession of her vows in 1957 was out of the ordinary.
Golden years
Since professing her final vows in 1960, Burkhart has served in several communities throughout the country and abroad.
She served as a teacher and later principal at a school in Richmond, Ind., and at several schools in Cincinnati, Ohio. She also served as a parish director of religious education; served two years in Kenya, Africa, as a pastoral minister; and worked two years on a Navajo reservation in Chinle, Ariz.
Burkhart holds degrees from Marian College and Boston College. In 1998, she received the Monsignor John J. Burns Award presented for community service by the Meridian Knights of Columbus.
She arrived in Meridian "by accident" in 1995.
The parish was St. Joseph Catholic Church, a predominately black congregation. Burkhart served more than 25 years as a teacher and principal at a school in a black community in Cincinnati.
She interviewed for the St. Joseph post and was hired.
Full circle
During her 10 years in Meridian, Burkhart has been active in many areas of the community.
Her most noted effort has been the annual ecumenical walk "Way of the Cross/Way of Peace." Organized in 1997, the event has grown from 700 participants to as many as 4,000.
She also has been instrumental in establishing Our Ladies Corner, a Catholic bookstore, and ACES (Active Christian Enthusiastic Seniors), an interest group for seniors, at St. Patrick and St. Joseph.
With no plans of slowing down, Burkhart considers Meridian where she has come full circle in her ministry.