Medical Mission Sister Ellen Hummel died May 2 at the Philadelphia Protestant Home in Philadelphia, Pa. She was 81 and had been a Medical Mission Sister since 1952.
Sister Hummel was born in Louisville and raised in the St. Edward Church community in Jeffersontown. She served in various support roles in Pennsylvania, Missouri and California before earning her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of St. Louis in 1970.
Sister Hummel travelled to Kusami, Ghana, in West Africa in 1971. There she co-founded the Center for Spiritual Renewal, which provides Christian faith formation, spiritual direction, retreats and counseling to Africans, as well as people from other countries. Sister Hummel served at the center for 18 years.
While in Africa, she organized the first diocesan synod for Kusami and the Regional Conference of Women Religious. She also served as co-vicar for clergy and religious in the diocese.
Sister Hummel returned to the United States in 1989, where she served in formation, spiritual direction and prison ministry. She earned a master’s degree in theological studies with a specialty in social ethics from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Ill.
Sister Hummel served at a parish in Pennsylvania and later traveled to El Paso, Texas, where she worked with homeless women and on border issues. She later returned to Pennsylvania where she resided until her death.
She is survived by her brother Norbert Daniel Hummel Jr.; her sister, Sister of Loretto Patricia Hummel; and members of her community.
The Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated May 10 at the Medical Mission Sisters Chapel in Philadelphia. Burial will follow in the Medical Mission Sisters cemetery.
