Ursuline Sister of Louisville Paula Kleine-Kracht died Oct. 31 at Nazareth Home-Clifton. She was 79 and in her 61st year of religious life.
Sister Kleine-Kracht, a native of Louisville, entered the Ursuline Sisters in 1965 following her graduation from Sacred Heart Academy.
Sister Kleine-Kracht, who held a doctoral degree in education leadership, served in education for 50 years. She co-founded Nativity Academy at St. Boniface, an independent Catholic middle school in Louisville for underprivileged urban children. She served as executive director of Nativity until 2013.
She also served as principal of Sacred Heart Academy from 1994 to 2001, building the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme. She also served as principal of Angela Merici High School from 1980 to 1984, when it merged with Bishop David High School to form co-ed Holy Cross High School in South Louisville.
She also taught at Sacred Heart Academy and Angela Merici High School and at a high school in South Carolina. She served as an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago, assistant professor at the University of Delaware, an adjunct professor at Bellarmine University and as a teacher in the Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Education program.
She served as a councilor on the leadership team of the Ursuline Sisters from 2014 to 2020.
She also received a host of awards and honors, including the Msgr. Felix Pitt Award for principals in 1983 and the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Catholic Secondary Education Award in 2001. She was recognized as a distinguished alumna by the Catholic Education Foundation in 2016, and she was inducted into the Distinguished Gallery of Graduates of Bellarmine University in 2001.
She is survived by her nephews and nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces, and her community of Ursuline Sisters and Ursuline Associates.
Visitation will be Nov. 6 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Bosse Funeral Home, 1355 Ellison Avenue. The vigil service will begin at 3:30 p.m.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. in the Ursuline Motherhouse Chapel with burial to follow in St. Michael Cemetery. The Mass will be livestreamed at: https://vimeo.com/event/5490821.Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Sister Paula Kleine-Kracht Scholarship at Nativity Academy at St. Boniface. To donate, visit https://nativitylouisville.org/ or call the school’s office at 855-3300.
