A journey of friendship and faith

By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger

Six lifelong friends wearing red Keokuk Catholic Schools shirts posed for a photo in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. The women, members of the Cardinal Stritch High School class of 1978, recently took a trip to Italy to celebrate friendship and faith. “Our Catholic faith began at a young age, so representing the school at the Vatican… was a great honor,” said Karla Russell, now an Indiana resident. 

Cardinal Stritch Junior/Senior High School closed about 20 years ago. Their elementary alma mater, St. Vincent’s School, continues to offer education to youths in preschool through fifth grade.

The 1978 class met up after an all-school reunion last year and discussed the possibility of an all-girls trip. “We were just sitting around… talking about where we’d like to travel when we retire,” recalled Cindy Runge of Keokuk. Nancy Wheeler, who traveled from Oklahoma to attend the reunion, was eager to vacation with friends but tried not to get her hopes up. “You say these things, but then wonder if it’s really going to happen.”

The six women who participated chose to take a guided tour of Italy. “I like to travel and Italy is someplace I’ve always wanted to go,” said Susan Steele Riley of Rock Island, Illinois. Susan’s family moved to Illinois after her sophomore year but she stayed in touch with her former Cardinal Stritch classmates. Karla, who had visited Rome previously, called Italy a “bucket list” destination. She looked forward to exploring the country with her friends.

The group independently explored Rome for two days before joining a guided tour of Italy. They spent time “church searching,” walking up to 10 miles a day visiting as many Roman churches as possible,” recalled Marlys McKaig of Iowa City. Karla served as an unofficial tour guide.

The group reminisced about their school days as they made their way through Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Assisi and Vatican City in September. “We only had 36 (students) in our class. Everyone was friends with everyone else… We basically grew up together,” Nancy said.

“I knew we would pick up right where we left off once we started traveling together,” said Kate Pflug, who now lives in Florida. “The trip was literally running down memory lane of all of our early years. We had so much fun and so many laughs reliving our pasts. Talking about our parents and how they molded our lives as Catholics was probably the most eye opening for me.” The tour was secular but it didn’t feel that way since Catholicism is so ingrained in the culture, the women said.

After the guided tour ended, the women spent several hours at the Vatican and toured St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Peter’s Square and the Sistine Chapel. “I feel I understand my faith more by hearing about it at our ‘home’ and just experiencing it,” Susan said. “Being in the Sistine Chapel gave me chills knowing that this is the place the cardinals meet to vote for our pope,” Karla said. She appreciated the beauty of the paintings there. “Knowing the story behind them all is even better. They tell the history of our faith.” 

While Pope Francis did not have a general audience during the women’s trip, “seeing where (he) waves to the crowd and seeing where he talks to all the people was just really mind boggling,” Maryls said. She observed religious sisters in habits walking around, which reminded her of her school days. “We all had nuns as teachers.”

The women said they felt proud sharing their Keokuk Catholic Schools pride in Vatican City. “Church and school were a very big part of our lives growing up. It gave us a strong foundation for our faith,” Susan said. “We studied religion our entire schooling but the trip reinforced all the importance of what we had growing up,” Kate said.

The women are grateful for the lifelong friendships they formed while attending Catholic schools in Keokuk. Cindy said, “We just have so much fun together and continue to make memories.”