Eucharistic pilgrimage inspires RNs to launch new group
Southern Nebraska Register
COVID-19 survivor to present overview of his experience, the power of prayer and gratitude for medical staff
A retreat for nurses will be held April 29 at the motherhouse of the Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln, 6765 N. 112 St., Waverly.
The event, “Nursing with the Hands of Mercy,” will be held on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, patron of nurses, from 9 a.m. to noon. The morning will consist of Mass, brunch and fellowship, Eucharistic adoration and confession.
The retreat is open to all people interested in the nursing profession. There is no cost to attend; start-up funds were provided by Knights of Columbus in Nebraska City.
“As we gather, our goal is to form a community of nurses who strive to care for those entrusted to us as Jesus Christ,” explained Sister Joan Kolbe, M.S. “Our hope is to establish a group of Catholic nurses within the Diocese of Lincoln to help nurture and support the calling to nursing as a Catholic.”
Sister Joan Kolbe has been working since January with Sister Faustina, M.S. and Dotti Easter of St. Benedict Parish in Nebraska City to form a group for nurses.
“We are all registered nurses working at different locations,” Sister Joan Kolbe explained. Easter has been a nurse for 32 years, Sister Joan Kolbe has been a nurse for three years and Sister Faustina has been a nurse for one year.
“All three of us are members of the Catholic Medical Association and the National Association of Catholic Nurses. We want to provide an opportunity for more local involvement for those unable to be involved in the national level.”
The retreat will include a presentation by Jeff Walker, a member of St. John the Apostle Parish in Lincoln.
Walker was invited to speak by Easter.
“Dotti and I met January 14, 2022, the day I had been transported to Select Specialties Hospital in Omaha, after a six-week stay at CHI in Lincoln,” Walker explained. “When we met, I was disoriented and distressed, having survived two intubations due to COVID-19 pneumonia’s attacks on my lungs and having undergone a tracheostomy which saved my life January 3, 2022.”
He said he was very weak, “having lost my ability to move in my bed, let alone sit or stand.”
“And I suddenly found myself alone and in a strange new environment.”
He said he connected instantly with Easter.
“After only a few brief whispers of conversation on my part, I deduced not only that she was a Christian, but also Catholic,” he said. “We found that we knew several people in common. Through my tears of exasperation at all I had endured – and knew was yet ahead of me – I asked Dotti to pray for me, and taking my hand, she did precisely that.
“She was leaving the next day for the March for Life in Washington, D.C.,” he continued, “but promised that before she left, she would make arrangements for me to receive Holy Communion on Sunday from a priest. She did, and that’s a story I’ll tell during my talk April 29.”
The title of his talk is “God is Indeed Here: How Nurses and Staff brought Jesus to my Bedside and the Power of Prayer.”
He said he will present a brief overview of the 87 days he spent in three different hospitals due to complications from COVID-19, from November 2021 through February 2022, and beyond.
“But the focus of my talk will be in describing how the spiritual warfare and battles I underwent were offset … by prayer, the sacraments, and in a very special way, the actions of nurses and hospital staff, and the encounters we shared ...when I was at my most vulnerable and weak.”
Sister Joan Kolbe said the desire for the nursing group “is a renewal to the vocation of nursing as truly serving Christ in the sick and suffering. The Holy Spirit put it on our hearts to bring Jesus into the poverty of our own worlds as nurses in those whom we care for.”
The group is currently unnamed, but already entrusted to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of life. This decision was inspired by the nurses’ participation in a mission trip last year to Mexico City, near the site of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
The diocesan pilgrimages to Mexico City were offered to encourage greater devotion to the Lord in the Eucharist, as part of the National Eucharistic Revival underway through 2025.
Sister Joan Kolbe said by serving “the poorest of the poor, the calling to do something more arose in our hearts.”
“We were challenged on how to bring our Eucharistic Lord to our patients in their poverty,” she said. “Ultimately our purpose for the group is to build community and support among Catholic nurses and to build a database of committed Catholic nurses who also want to serve our Lord.”
To RSVP for the April 29 retreat, or with questions, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Those who are not able to attend the event, but are interested in the formation of the nurses’ group, may request to join an email list to be kept up to date with developments.
