Sister Kathryn Shannon
Current ministry location – Monrovia, CA
Kathryn Shannon was born December 3, 1927 in Oconomowoc, WI to Lucia (Lane) Shannon and Aloysius David Shannon. She had 1 sister: Sr. Ellen, OP and 1 brother: Rev. David, CSSR. Kathryn graduated from St. Mary’s Academy, Prairie Du Chein, WI in 1945.
Kathryn Shannon entered the Maryknoll Sisters at the Center, NY in 1945. She professed First Vows March 7, 1946 and Final Vows March 7, 1951 also at the Center. After earning her Bachelor or Education degree from Maryknoll Teachers College in 1951, she received her first overseas assignment to Hawaii. For 6 years she taught fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. During these six years of loving ministry, Sister also studied for and earned her Master’s in Education from the University of Hawaii in 1957.
Returning to the US in 1958, Sister Kathryn spent one term teaching fifth grade in the Bronx, NY before receiving an assignment to Tanzania. There she lived and served for the next ten years, first tutoring in Tabora Teacher Training College and later teaching college history, engaging in pastoral work and primary evangelization, and studying the Swahili Language.
In 1978, Sister Kathryn offered three years of Congregational Service in the Maryknoll Center’s Development Department. On her return to Tanzania shortly thereafter, she immersed herself again in primary evangelization and pastoral work. In 1982 Sister was assigned to a new African region, Zimbabwe, where, after studying the Shona Language, she continued her pastoral work and taught secondary classes to ex-freedom fighters. Sister Kathryn also served through significant community development until her return to the Center in 1991.
On arriving back in New York, Sister did three years of Justice and Peace work while giving Congregational Service in the Hospitality Department.
In 1995 she was assigned to South Sudan, teaching, catechizing, and working in Biblical translation before retiring to the Sisters retirement home in Monrovia, CA in 1999.
Sister Kathryn remained active in both the Maryknoll Sisters community and the Los Angeles area since her retirement, engaging in various Justice and Peace projects with the same dedication that characterized her throughout her life.