Sister Mary Irma Ries, PBVM, will observe her golden jubilee with four other Presentation Sisters on June 27, at Mount Loretto Motherhouse in Dubuque. They will celebrate with a 10:30 a.m. liturgy in Sacred Heart Chapel and a dinner afterward.
A reception will be held from 2-4 p.m. for family, friends and Presentation Sisters and associates. The theme of the day is “Rooted and Grounded in Love.”
She joined the Presentation Sisters in 1959 and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clarke College in Dubuque, a master’s in religious education from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and certification in teaching, school administration, reading clinical and reading specialists, facilitator/trainer in Seven Habits of Effective Families, family development specialist, massage therapy and Spanish language and cultural study.
She has served as a teacher and principal in Catholic schools in Iowa and Minnesota; as a director of religious education and pastoral minister in parishes in Iowa and Minnesota; as a migrant minister in North Dakota; and as a member of the leadership team of her congregation.
In the Diocese of Davenport, she has served as pastoral minister and director of religious education at St. James Parish in Washington and as pastoral minister at Ss. Mary & Mathias Parish in Muscatine.
Currently, Sr. Ries is executive director of Muscatine Center for Social Action (MCSA), a center that provides shelter, basic health care, educational and vocational support services for the homeless and near homeless of Muscatine County.
