A funeral Mass for St. Louis native Sister Rita (formerly Sister Mary Ann Frederick) Bruegenhagen, SL, was celebrated March 31 in the Church of the Seven Dolors at Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky. Sister Rita died March 22 at Loretto Living Center on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse. A longtime bookkeeper and business manager, she was 88 and in the 68th year of her Loretto commitment.
Rita Catherine Bruegenhagen was born Feb. 25, 1937, in St. Louis and baptized at St. Englebert Church. She was received into the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross May 24, 1957. Sister Rita earned a bachelor’s degree in French, with minors in business education and social studies, in 1961 from Webster University and a master’s in business administration in 1967 from the University of Notre Dame.
In St. Louis, Sister Rita was administrative assistant to the finance director of Cardinal Ritter Institute (1984-86); business manager at Incarnate Word Academy (1986-95); accounting instructor for the St. Louis Archdiocese (1995-97) and bookkeeper for St. Peter Parish in Kirkwood (1997-2012).
Elsewhere, Sister Rita taught and was an office assistant at Loretto in Kansas City, Missouri; began the Sisters Council in El Paso, Texas, and was business manager at Loretto Academy in El Paso, where she also later was a member of the school’s board; served as the finance person for Mile Hi Religious Education Conferences in Denver; and taught PSR at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Sister Rita also volunteered working with adults with special needs and did filing for immigration lawyers. She served her congregation as Assistant to the Treasurer General and as Loretto’s Southern Province Treasurer. Her concern for detail, outstanding organizational and financial skills and her sense of integrity were valued by others who also considered her a woman of great faith, great humor and a loyal friend.
She loved history and talking with those with stories to tell of the past, visiting history exhibits and historical sites whenever possible. Sister Rita resided in St. Louis for more than 35 years until moving to Loretto Motherhouse in 2021. There, she was often called on for projects, served on the Loretto Constitutions’ study groups for new members in process and filled in whenever anyone was ill or on vacation. Most days she also could be found enjoying a walk on the Motherhouse campus.
Her parents preceded her in death as did her brother, John, and sister, Teresa M. Bruegenhagen Emnett. Burial was in Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.
