Sister Luisa Bickett has lived in this small, frame house in rural Ohio County for the last 19 years.

     “Just before the Hispanics came (to Ohio County), I was trying to make plans to return to South America when those plans suddenly changed and I had to remain in Horse Branch. A few months later the Hispanics began coming to Ohio County, and I felt like I could be more help here. I had been wanting to return to Latin America, and Latin America came to me."
      Sister Luisa Bickett, an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph who has been a fixture in rural Ohio County for 22 years, was looking back at how the Lord works in such beautiful ways, having the right people in the right place at the right time as has been the case with her journey from New Mexico and Kentucky classrooms to South America and finally to rural Ohio County, Kentucky.
     Sister Luisa, who has resided in Ohio County for the last 22 years, was born in Ohio County (“just at the edge of the county, across from Daviess County”) to Henry and Ina Belle Bickett, the fourth oldest of 10 children, five boys and five girls. Henry Bickett, a farmer, moved his family across the county line into Daviess County when Luisa was five years old.
     Sister Luisa was Ursuline-taught throughout grade school (Saint Raphael’s) and high school (Mount Saint Joseph Academy). She says she can’t remember when she didn’t have the calling to religious life, but she didn’t take it seriously until she made a retreat her senior year of high school. “I knew what I wanted to do,” Sister Luisa recalls, “but I didn’t talk to anyone about it until about a month before I entered the convent that fall. I told Sister Louis Bertrand about my decision, and she was very supportive.”

Sister Luisa serves as an interpreter for Arisbeth Medina when she brings her son, Andres, to the Owensboro office of Dr. Michael F. Yeiser for a regular checkup.

    She returned to Mount Saint Joseph that fall as a postulant. This was followed by two years as a novice before she began her teaching career in 1950 at Saint Thomas School in Farmington, New Mexico. She taught all subjects to the middle grades for 11 years at Saint Thomas before returning to Kentucky to teach for one year at Jeffersontown. After one year at San Fidel in New Mexico, Sister Luisa returned to Farmington for two years before making plans for a major change in her ministry – her first venture to South America.
     She wasn’t scheduled to leave for Chile, South America, until mid-December, so Sister Luisa taught from September to mid-December at Saint Elizabeth School in Curdsville.
     In 1965 Pope Paul VI had appealed to all American religious communities to send 10 percent of their members to South America to combat the spread of Communism there. Sister Luisa and Sister Mary Gerard Thomas were among the first Ursuline sisters to venture into South America. (Note: Sister Mary Gerard is now a Sister of Charity, Sister Carolyn Thomas).
     “We went to Santiago and worked in a Jesuit boys school,” recalls Sister Luisa. “We taught English and religion there for six years and developed our own Spanish speaking skills. I left Santiago for Chillán where I worked at a boys' Jesuit school for two years and then at a Maryknoll Missionioners' school for two more years. I then left to do pastoral work in the población (slum areas) of Chillán with the Maryknoll fathers while living with the Maryknoll sisters.”

Sister Luisa's interpretation skills are also helpful to Arisbeth during a visit to the Social Security office.

     The pastoral work in the slums of Chillán lasted for eight years, until 1983.
     In 1979 Sister Mary Elizabeth Ballard, affectionately known as Sister Mimi, came to Chillán to begin her ministry in South America. Sister Luisa, who had been living with the Maryknoll sisters, found a house in the población, and she and Sister Mimi took up residence there.
     Before Sister Luisa left Chillan to return to the States, Sister Rosemary Keough came there to join Sister Mimi. 
     Leaving the Chillán mission in the hands of Sister Mimi and Sister Rosemary, Sister Luisa came home to Kentucky to spend time close to her parents. She also enrolled at Brescia College, taking courses that helped her in her work. “I thought I’d go back to South America after spending some time with my parents,” says Sister Luisa. But her life was to move into a different direction.
     In 1984 she accepted an outreach ministry at Holy Redeemer Church in Beaver Dam, in her native Ohio County, working with pastor Father Joe O’Donnell, a Glenmary priest. Her work concentrated on the needs of the poor in the area. She devoted much of her time to working with the local HELP office.

Bob and Francil Higdon of Beaver Dam are longtime friends and supporters of Sister Luisa. Francil (Riney) Higdon is a graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy.

     In 1987 Sister Luisa, wanting to get closer to the poor and needy in the outer regions of Ohio County, moved into a small frame house at Horse Branch, 13 miles east of Beaver Dam. She moved into a poor area of Ohio County in which there were almost no Catholic families.
     Dee Black, secretary-bookkeeper at Holy Redeemer in Beaver Dam since 1982, says, “Sister Luisa had dreams of moving to Horse Branch, and it’s amazing what happened out there. She went around and introduced herself to everyone in the area, visited every home, and that’s primarily a non-Catholic area. She attended revivals, went to funerals, worked in a little grocery store – she would fill in for workers so they could go to a doctor’s appointment or something. She just got to know everyone and everyone got to know her. She mailed them all cards at Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter and Thanksgiving. She sent letters to everyone out there, saying something very pleasant, that she was thinking of them, cared for them, and so on.”

Holy Redeemer parishoners Gail and Jerry Critchelow became friends with Sister Luisa shortly after they moved to Beaver Dam in 1986.

  Francil Riney Higdon, a 1960 graduate of the Mount Saint Joseph Academy, and now, along with her husband Bob, a Hartford resident and Holy Redeemer parishioner, says of her longtime friend, “When she moved to Horse Branch she moved to a rural, very non-Catholic area, but quickly realized that was where God wanted her to be and she made her presence known.”
     Kentucky State trooper Jerry Critchelow and his wife, Gail, came to Beaver Dam in 1986 and quickly became friends with Sister Luisa. When she moved to Horse Branch in 1987, Trooper Critchelow was concerned for her safety.
     “I was worried about her safety in that rural part of the county. But then I learned that the people there had quickly embraced her for what she did for the rural part of the county, and I didn’t have to worry about her anymore. Sometimes when I stop a Hispanic driver for a minor traffic violation, he might be quite upset and worried since he is having a problem communicating with me about it. I’ve learned that I just have to mention Sister Luisa and he smiles, relaxes and knows everything’s going to be all right. It’s obvious, she’s really special to them.”

Dee Black, longtime secretary for Holy Redeemer parish, has known Sister Luisa since her arrival in Ohio County in 1984. She says, "I still think anyone in this parish would do anything for Sister Luisa."

     Secretary-treasurer Black adds, “When Sister Luisa first came here and went to work with people most in need, I thought they were going to chew her up and spit her out…because she was so sweet, so nice, so accepting of everyone. But I found out her experiences in Chile were similar, and she handled everything in a very professional and caring manner and has done so all these years. She showed them ways to make money such as collecting aluminum cans. She always encourages everyone to better themselves."
     She added, “I still think anyone in this parish would do anything for Sister Luisa.”
     Bob and Francil Higdon are longtime friends and supporters of Sister Luisa.  Says Francil, “Sister is such a good and holy woman who has made herself well known in a very positive way for over 20 years throughout Ohio County.”
     Gail Critchelow is the religious education coordinator at Holy Redeemer. “Sister Luisa helped get the Hispanic kids here for our religious education classes,” says Gail. “We couldn’t have done it without her.” She continued, “Catholics are in the minority here, but everyone in the county knows Sister Luisa. That shows how she’s been involved in caring for the whole county, not just for the church.”

Glenmary brother David Henley, shown here with his friend, Teresa, at a Holy Redeemer family social, is a student at Brescia University. He also helps Sister Luisa with translation work among the Hispanics.  He says, "I love to work with Sister Luisa. She is my wisdom figure."

   Glenmary brother David Henley is a student at Brescia University and assists Sister Luisa with translating tasks and transporting Hispanic youths in Ohio County. Father David enjoys his work with Sister Luisa. He says, “She is my wisdom figure. We communicate regularly to coordinate the services we provide to the community.”
     A major accomplishment during Sister Luisa’s long ministry at Horse Branch was the construction of the Saint Francis Community Center. After Sister Luisa led a campaign for human development to get the center built, land was purchased at a bargain price from a former resident now living in Texas – Bobby Wallace – and the multi-purpose facility became a reality.
     “The center means a tremendous amount to this area,” says Gail Raley of Horse Branch, a center volunteer. “Besides serving senior dinners, it’s the only place in the area for wedding receptions, birthday parties, family reunions, any type of get-togethers for which we never had a facility before. I think it’s great.”
     Gail is also a member of the local quilt club that meets weekly at the center. She has kind words for Sister Luisa. “I think Sister Luisa means a lot to this area because anyone can go to her if they need anything and they know she will try her best to help them for any reason – a meal, a ride, anything – she’s there.”

Saint Francis Community Center volunteers Betty Ramsey (left) and Gail Raley, are also members of the center's quilt club, which meets weekly.

    Betty Ramsey of Horse Branch is also a center volunteer and a member of the quilt club. She says, “So many people depend on Sister Luisa that she probably doesn’t even realize it. I don’t think she knows how to say no. Even if she should, she wouldn’t. She’s just that way. She has become a very close friend.”
     Since her arrival in Ohio County 22 years ago, Sister Luisa hasn’t slowed down a beat. She’s up at dawn (or before), on the go all day long and into the evening hours, all for the love of those who need her.
     “I’ve always felt drawn to the poor,” says Sister Luisa. “The years I spend in the población were special to me because my work was more closely involved in the people's lives. I was able to be with them when there was a death in the family, comfort them when they were out of work and sometimes help feed them when they didn't have anything to eat.”

Members of the 2005 Vacation Bible School class at Holy Redeemer parish surprised Sister Luisa with a prayer garden dedicated it in her honor. A plaque on the wall behind the garden (see insert) tells of the dedication.

     She continued, “I thought I knew what poverty was before I went to Guatemala in 1987 to visit Sister Mimi and Sister Dianna Ortiz. I decided right there that Chillán was like living uptown, even in the slums. Oh my goodness, it was far, far worse than Chillán . On top of a mountain to even walk from one half to the other was challenging. It was just real rough kind of rocks and things. Extreme poverty. Very little could grow on small plots. Sometimes you could have meat on Sundays, rest of the time beans and corn tortillas.”
     “Right now my concern is for the Hispanics and others in Ohio County,” says Sister Luisa. “I just want to take care of their physical, medical, housing and special needs the best I can.”
     There is a flower garden outside Holy Redeemer Church in Beaver Dam, which was built by the 2005 Vacation Bible School class. The garden features a cross of autographed bricks, a prayer bench and a statue of Saint Francis. Sister Luisa was present when the flower garden was dedicated and was surprised when a plaque was unveiled at the dedication. The plaque reads: This Garden is Dedicated to The Honor and Glory of God, In Recognition of the Faithful Service of Sister Luisa Bickett, OSU, May All Who Pray Here Know the Love, Peace and Joy of Our Lord Jesus Christ 2005.

Sister Luisa gets a big hug from José.

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