Sr. Amelia Stenger, OSU, the first woman to serve as the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro, is seen in this undated photo that had been originally published in Owensboro Catholic High School’s Newsline. COURTESY OF ARCHIVES
Sr. Amelia Stenger remembered for her love of God, Catholic education, and her Ursuline Sisters
BY ANDY TELLI, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Sr. Amelia Stenger, OSU, the first woman to serve as the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro, “was never not a teacher,” recalled Sr. Sharon Sullivan, OSU, the congregational leader of the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph. “Her teaching was how can you help people discover whatever it was they wanted to discover.”
Sr. Amelia, 77, died on March 28, 2026, at Mount Saint Joseph. She was in her 58th year of religious life. A funeral Mass was celebrated on Tuesday, April 7, with burial following in the Motherhouse cemetery.
Sr. Amelia served as superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro from 1984-91, before becoming the first woman to serve as superintendent for the Archdiocese of Louisville from 1991 to 1997. Part of her legacy as the Owensboro diocese’s superintendent was the establishment of the popular Rainbow Mass, which brings together students from all of the Catholic schools in the diocese for a Mass celebrated in the Owensboro Sportscenter every two years.
The Mass takes its name from the variety of colors of the shirts the students wear.
“I didn’t realize how important (the Rainbow Mass) was until I got to the diocesan office and started traveling to schools,” recalled Ann Flaherty, who previously served as the superintendent for the Owensboro diocese and retired in 2019. “To have all those students come together in one building with the bishop… it shows the strength of our Catholic faith.”
Sr. Amelia Stenger, OSU, always an educator, is seen reading books with children in this undated photo. COURTESY OF ARCHIVES
Sr. Amelia brought the same energy she showed as a school superintendent to a long list of assignments and projects as a member of the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph, including: director of the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center 1997-2010; director of development for the Ursuline Sisters 2010-16; congregational leader 2016-22.
Among the programs Sr. Amelia shepherded were: environmental education programs at Maple Mount; the Quilt Club; commemorative, memorial and T-shirt quilts sewn for celebrations; agriculture education programs; the Memory Meditation Garden and the Rosary Walk at Maple Mount; and the Ursuline Flatboat Adventure, which recreated the journey of the pioneer Sisters who arrived from Louisville in 1874.
“Sr. Amelia had that rare gift to be able to imagine a project as a possibility, to pitch that idea to seemingly unrelated groups of people, and to bring them all on board – gathering their ideas, convincing them that they had the ability or the desire to spend the time and effort necessary to help bring the project to completion,” Sr. Sharon said during the wake for Sister Amelia.
Sr. Carol Shively, OSU, a member of the congregation at Mount Saint Joseph and superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Shreveport, remembered Sr. Amelia as a person with a vibrant imagination.
“She could teach a pre-K 4 student just as well as she could teach an adult because she had that wild imagination and that thirst for knowledge,” Sr. Carol said. “She just knew that she wanted to pour that into her students.”
As a leader, Sr. Amelia “would never ask you to do something that she wouldn’t do herself,” Sr. Carol said. “Instead of walking ahead, she’d walk with you.”
After entering the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph in the fall of 1967, she began teaching at Precious Blood School in Owensboro from 1971-74, followed by assignments as a teacher and principal at Immaculate Conception School in Earlington 1975-77, Christ the King School in Madisonville 1977-82, and St. Joseph School in Bowling Green 1982-84.
Donations in memory of Sister Amelia may be made to the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.
In 1984, Sr. Amelia Stenger, OSU, and the late Bishop John J. McRaith visits Our Lady of Lourdes School in Owensboro. COURTESY OF ARCHIVES
Originally printed in the May 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
