Madonna (Goretti) Kuebelbeck, OSB
Madonna (Goretti) Kuebelbeck, OSB
St Joseph, Minn.
January 13, 1932 – September 3, 2015
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, September 9, 2015, at the Sacred Heart Chapel, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, for Sister Madonna (Goretti) Kuebelbeck who died on September 3, 2015, at Saint Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud. Burial will take place in the monastery cemetery. Friends may call at Saint Scholastica Convent on Tuesday, September 8, from 1-6 p.m., or for a Vigil Prayer Service at 7 p.m. at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. Visitation continues at 9 a.m. until the time of the funeral.
The daughter of Henry and Petronella (Orth) Kuebelbeck, S. Madonna was born in St. Paul, Minn., where she attended St. Columba Grade School and St. Agnes High School. She entered Saint Benedict’s Monastery in 1951; was received into the novitiate as Sister Goretti in 1952; made first monastic profession on July 11, 1953; and perpetual monastic profession on July 11, 1956. In 1968, she returned to her baptismal name.
S. Madonna graduated from St. Cloud Hospital School of Nursing and was licensed as a registered nurse. She earned a B.S. degree in nursing from Boston College in Boston, Mass., and an M.S. in psychiatric nursing from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn.
Health care was S. Madonna’s ministry and passion. She worked on the nursing staff at St. Cloud Hospital where she was involved in initiating the first post anesthesia recovery room as well as the first intensive care unit. Her M.S. degree in psychiatric nursing enabled her to become the first clinical nurse specialist and program director in the mental health unit. For 12 years she served people living in poverty in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Her health care ministry in Recife included the role of coordinator of pastoral care in health sector hospitals and serving as consultant for mental health and chemical dependency problems. S. Madonna also worked with the physically disabled.
On her return to the United States, she worked in psychiatric nursing in Willmar, Minn. She ministered to all clients, especially the Hispanic community. She later served as assistant supervisor of nursing at Saint Scholastica Convent. In July 1998, S. Madonna was appointed monastic health/wellness educator, coordinator and mental health advocate for Saint Benedict’s Monastery. She also assisted as hostess in the Art and Heritage Place. In 2007, she moved to Saint Scholastica Convent where she was involved in a ministry of prayer and community living.
S. Madonna is survived by the members of her Benedictine community, her sister, Lillian Hendel of Scottsdale, Ariz., nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by two brothers, Alfred and Edward, and two sisters, Loretta Knaff and Loraine Glaser.
Please direct memorial gifts to the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict Retirement Fund.
