Sister Bernadette Braun, MM

Born: December 10, 1931
Entered: December 30, 1956
Died: January 16, 2025

“My heart is full of ambition to do God’s work in the Field Afar”

With these words, Bernie expressed her request to become a Maryknoll Sister.

Our dear Sister Bernie entered eternal life on January 16, 2025 at 5:30 AM at our Maryknoll Residential Facility in N.Y. She was 93 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 69 years.

Theresia Elizabeth Braun was born December 10, 1931, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to Paul and Louise Braun. She was the 4th of eight siblings, four brothers and three sisters. All but her brother Joseph have predeceased her. Joseph resides in Switzerland and is not able to be here today. We have sent our condolences to him through his granddaughter.

After graduating from High School and Business College in 1950, she worked for five years as a bookkeeper while studying English, in preparation for immigrating to the United States. When asked many years later why she wanted to come to the U.S., she answered, with a smile, “I wanted to get rich”. In 1955, Theresia arrived in the U.S. sponsored by her aunt in Wisconsin, who arranged a position for her as a housekeeper in a friend’s home. This was a daughter of the Miller High Life family, whose nephew was a Maryknoll Priest, Mike Bransfield, who was missioned in Korea.  So, when Theresia expressed her desire to enter the convent, they arranged for her to meet the Maryknoll Sisters in Chicago. As the quote at the beginning of this letter shows, she felt that God was calling her to be a missionary. She spent the next eight months as an aspirant at Queen of the World Hospital in Kansas City, MO under the guidance of Sr. Mercy.

Theresia entered Maryknoll in Valley Park on December 30, 1956, at 25 years of age, and received the name Sr. M. St. Bernadette at reception, a name she kept all her life. Bernie was professed in Valley Park in August of 1959, and after a short period at Maryknoll, N.Y., she was assigned to South Korea, where she spent most of her life, beginning at the Maryknoll hospital in Pusan in the Maintenance Department.

Sr. Marquette, Administrator of the Hospital, recognized Bernie’s affinity for study of the Korean language, and so arranged for her to attend Sacred Heart College in Chun Cheon, Korea where she received a B.S. in Social Work in 1972. After completing her studies, she was assigned to the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., where she completed her Masters in Social Work in 1975.

Returning to Korea, she worked with Holt Children’s Service, Seoul, as International Adoption Case Supervisor, for five years. In 1980 she moved to Kwangju, Korea where she was a Counselor at the St. John of God Psychiatric Clinic for the next 7 years. Her final assignment in Korea was to three Islands in the South Sea, off the southwest coast of Mokpo, Korea, doing Pastoral Ministry, village Bible study, home visiting, and gardening. After this, the death of our Sister Esther Kelly in Nepal ignited a desire in three of us in Korea, (Bernie, Chris Ortis, and Pat Conroy) to continue ministry in this Hindu Kingdom, together with Sr. Rosemary Huber. From 2000 to 2002, Bernie joined Pat in Tansen, Nepal, as Social Service Director in the United Mission to Nepal Hospital, until the illness that threatened her life required her to return to NY in 2002. At this time, we came to know her fierce determination to return to full health, which continued to improve over the next year at the Center. She then returned to Korea in 2003 and worked at the St. Joseph Clinic for the homeless in Seoul. She retired in 2009 and joined the community in Monrovia, CA where she lived until 2018, when she returned to the Center Chi-Rho Community. When she needed more assistance in meeting her health needs, she requested a transfer to the Eden community in 2020. Bernie was an avid student, speaking German, French, Korean, and Nepali in addition to English. But she was so quiet and retiring that few people knew this. She always took the back seat at a meeting and listened more than spoke. She tended to disappear in a crowd, and more than once I had to search for her in the bus terminal! Bernie had great energy, determination, and commitment to whatever was asked of her.

I shared community life with Bernie for 14 years in Island Ministry and two years in Nepal. I came to appreciate her as a person and companion, as well as her deep spirituality, quiet humor, and love of the people. Bernie had a deep love for her native Switzerland and kept in close touch with her family, especially her sister Syble, who was a nun in Switzerland.

She expressed her wish to be cremated and to display her picture with the Swiss flag, and a single rose at her wake, and that we sing EDELWEIS after the service. We thank you, Bernie, for our long years of friendship in mission.  We will miss you.

We thank Father Russell Feldmeier, MM for officiating at this Mass and for all the nursing staff who took such good care of her these past four years.