Sister Helen Jean Brinkman, FSE and Sister Bernice Blaha, FSE
Celebrating her 96th birthday in 2024, Sister Helen Jean (left) has the honor of being the oldest member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. One month younger is Sister Bernice Blaha. Both Sisters are engaged in the daily life of the community.
Sister Helen Jean Brinkman, FSE
Sister Helen Jean was born in Edgar, Wisconsin, along with her twin brother, Franklin, on March 7, 1928. They had six other siblings. Sister Helen Jean entered the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in 1945. She taught in parish elementary schools throughout Wisconsin for several years and then was the Director of Postulants for five years. During that time, Sister Helen Jean worked closely with the other formators in the Experiment in Religious Life which led to the founding of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in 1973. Sister Helen Jean’s academic specialty was History as she earned both Bachelor and Master degrees in the field. Her most beloved area, American history, became a lens through which she viewed current events, and developed an unwavering love of our country and its foundational value of freedom. Sister Helen Jean continues to be active on the Community’s History Committee, gathering stories, personal accounts and precious memories to be recorded for future generations of Sisters and Brothers. For her, history is not just a study, but a heartfelt relationship with all that has preceded and has formed the fabric of the present.
Moving into a new career in 1983 with a Masters degree in Counseling, Sister Helen Jean founded a Franciscan counseling center in Astoria, Oregon. She continued counseling as part of the Community’s apostolic services in Duluth, Minnesota, and Bridal Veil, Oregon where she has lived for the past several years. As one of the “originals” of the FSE Community, Sister Helen Jean is beloved by her Sisters and lay people alike. She continues to share her witty humor within the Community.
Sister Bernice Blaha, FSE
Sister Bernice, too, was born and raised in Wisconsin. Her birth was quite dramatic as she was born on Easter Sunday, April 8, 1928, on the family farm near Independence, during a blizzard with drifts of snow six feet high. She had five siblings. Sister Bernice entered the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and made her first profession of vows in 1949. After six years of teaching elementary children, Sister Bernice was asked to earn a degree in pharmacy at Creighton University which set a professional trajectory for most of her working years. Following her summa cum laude pharmacy studies, she served as a pharmacist in Sacred Heart Hospital, Idaho Falls, Idaho; St. Francis Hospital, La Crosse, Wisconsin; Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit; and Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital, Portland, Oregon.
Attention to detail has been a noted trait of Sister Bernice which, combined with her medical background, suited her well for a position transcribing therapists’ notes at hospitals in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after she retired from pharmacy work. In the Lowell, Michigan, center, Sister Bernice not only spends many hours in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, praying for the needs of world, but also keeps up with the details of world events. Her intellectual curiosity keeps her on a path of learning every day.
