Two Sisters of Mercy celebrated jubilees at St. Raphael Church during the 4 p.m. liturgy Sept. 7.
Sister Catherine Marie Melton celebrated 80 years as a Sister of Mercy and Sister Paulanne Diebold celebrated her golden jubilee, 50 years as a sister.
Sister Melton, formerly Sister Mary Genesius, is a native of Waverly, Ky., and entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1933.
She served as a teacher in Ohio and Kentucky, including at more than half a dozen schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville: Holy Cross, St. Paul, Our Lady, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Polycarp, St. Athanasius, St. Aloysius in Pewee Valley and Immaculate Conception in La Grange, where she also served as principal.
She also ministered by visiting nursing homes and the sick and homebound, including those of the former Our Lady Church (now Good Shepherd), where she also lived for a year. She currently serves in the ministry of prayer.
Sister Diebold entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1963 and became a teacher. She taught at St. Paul, St. Polycarp and Mercy Academy. She served as principal of St. Ignatius School in Louisville and taught and served as principal of Immaculate Conception. She also worked in parish ministry for nearly 20 years as a music director, cantor and choir director.
Sister Diebold, who holds a master’s degree in social work, served as the director of aging ministry at Catholic Charities and in a variety of roles at Sacred Heart Village. Currently, Sister Diebold is the director and community-life coordinator at St. Catherine Convent, the retirement home for the local Sisters of Mercy on Tyler Lane.
