The Ladysmith Servite Sisters reappointed (from left) Sr. Theresa Sandok (president), Sr. Sean Fox, and Sr. Barbara Thomalla to serve as their 2024-28 Leadership Team. They began their new term of office on Sept. 15. (Submitted photo)
At a General Chapter on Aug. 29, the Servants of Mary (Servite Sisters) of Ladysmith affirmed the reappointment of Srs. Sean Fox, Theresa Sandok, and Barbara Thomalla to serve as their 2024-28 Leadership Team. The team began its new term of office at an installation ceremony on Sept. 15, feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of the Servite Order.
Prior to serving in community leadership, Sr. Sean worked as an attorney in the Chicago area, where she provided legal services to the bereaved and elderly in settling estates and to families with disabled members in planning for the disabled person’s care. Sr. Theresa was a philosophy professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. Sr. Barbara served as a public health nurse with St. Paul Ramsey County Public Health in Minnesota.
The Servite Sisters were established in Ladysmith in 1912. At one time, they staffed the local parochial school and operated a hospital, nursing home, school of nursing, high school, and college in Ladysmith. They also owned a 400-acre farm that provided milk, eggs, meat, and vegetables for the hospital and convent.
At its peak in the 1960s, the community numbered more than 80 members and engaged in various ministries throughout the United States. The 22 Sisters who make up the community today are mostly retired and live in Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Many continue to contribute to the spiritual and material welfare of those around them through volunteer service.
The Ladysmith Servite Sisters are part of the international Servite Order founded in Florence, Italy, in 1233. Servite priests, brothers, sisters, cloistered nuns, and laity can be found ministering on five continents.
