A funeral Mass for Sister Pauline Schafer, SCC, was celebrated on April 10 at the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Northfield, Illinois. Sister Pauline died March 29 at the convent. She was 98.
Pauline Schafer was born on Oct. 16, 1926, in Westphalia, Michigan. She entered the Sisters of Christian Charity on Aug. 1, 1941.
On Aug. 21, 1944, she was received into the novitiate and given the name Sister Lois (she later returned to her baptismal name). She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 21, 1946, and perpetual vows on Aug. 20, 1952.
Sister Pauline began her teaching career at Guardian Angels School in Chaska, Minnesota. Her ministry took her to Chicago (St. Aloysius and St. Gregory); Westmont, Illinois (Holy Trinity); Minneapolis (St. Elizabeth); Detroit (St. John Evangelist); Clarendon Hills, Illinois (Notre Dame); Chillicothe, Illinois (St. Edward); Westphalia, Michigan (St. Mary); New Ulm, Minnesota (St. Mary); and Palatine, Illinois (St. Theresa). She taught, at various times, grades one through five. In addition to her duties in the classroom, she also was local superior at St. Aloysius, St. Edward, St. Mary-New Ulm and St. Mary-Westphalia.
In 1987, Sister Pauline was transferred to St. Vincent Home in St. Louis. She served as a special education teacher for a year, then became a tutor. In 1987, she was named director of the Lay Associate Program (now known as the Companions of Pauline). Sister Pauline would continue as director of the Companions of Pauline until her retirement in 2019.
In 1988, Sister Pauline became a vocation representative. Her other duties at St. Vincent Home included tutoring, coordinating the activities of the Missouri-area Companions and directing the Prayer Companions of Pauline.
She moved to St. Mary Convent in Westphalia in 1998 where she tutored at St. Mary School and continued her work with the Companions of Pauline, this time coordinating the activities of the Michigan-area Companions.
In 2001, Sister Pauline was at Josephinum Convent in Chicago, where she served as a tutor in the SCC Literacy Program, in addition to her previously mentioned duties.
Sister Pauline went to Sacred Heart Convent in Wilmette in 2017. She was among the group of sisters that moved into the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Northfield, Illinois, in June 2024. It was her 80th jubilee year.
Burial was in Maria Immaculata Cemetery in Wilmette, Illinois.
