Sister Louise Olberding
When Sister Louise Olberding requested her baptismal certificate, the parish secretary discovered that the priest had recorded the baptism under the name Mary Gertrude instead of Gladys Marie.
"Gertrude was watching over me all those years and I didn't know it," said Sister Louise, who marked 60 years as a Benedictine from St. Gertrude's in 2009. Although she always wanted to be a nun, Sister Louise felt more deeply called to be a missionary. "From early childhood, I wanted to lead people to Jesus," she said. Inspired by the Medical Missionaries she admired and the Holy Cross Sisters who were her teachers, she was ready.
Growing up, she was surrounded by religious sisters. Her aunt, Franciscan Sister Richard, visited her family often in Nebraska and later in Emmett, Idaho. Sister Richard was a dedicated teacher who inspired Gladys Marie to religious life.
Sisters from St. Gertrude's taught summer catechism in Emmett and sometimes boarded at the Olberding home. One of these Sisters asked Gladys Marie, "Do you think you'd like to be a Sister?"
"I AM going to be a Sister," Gladys Marie answered matter-of-factly and she accepted the sisters' invitation to visit St. Gertrude's. Her parents sent her to boarding school for two years, hoping she'd change her mind about entering religious life. However, on her 17th birthday, she walked up the steep front steps of the Monastery of St. Gertrude.
Sister Louise began teaching soon after her first monastic profession in 1949. She attended Gonzaga University and St. Louis University, earning degrees in medical technology and hospital administration. She ministered at nursing homes in Mt. Angel, Oregon. Later, at St. Vincent Hospital in
Portland, she discovered her gift for pastoral care which she shared 30 years with patients and staff.
In 2000, she moved back to the Monastery for health reasons. "I'm happy to be here," she said. "Belonging to a group with the same life goals is the most wonderful part of being a Sister at St. Gertrude's."
Sister Louise spends her days in prayer and reflection. She offers a basic formula for deepening one's relationship with God: "Strike up a conversation with God regarding your concerns. Ask for his help. Learn to say, 'I love you, God, and thanks for the good things you have done for me!"