Sister Caia Etzkorn was born in Louisville, Kentucky and professed her first vows in 1874. Sister Caia was responsible for opening the third mission in Canada - St. Mary’s in Kitchener, Ontario. For 40 years, she taught the primary classes.
Sister Caia’s legacy to Catholic education is that she persuaded the Superiors in Milwaukee not to withdraw the sisters from Ontario when the Department of Education in 1907 required teachers to have Ontario certification. The majority of teachers were from United States. She and Sister Lioba Dietrich were instrumental in arranging summer school classes in Kitchener so that all the teachers could become qualified.
The pastors were deeply grateful that the sisters would continue teaching in the Catholic schools. Sister Caia died on July 15, 1914. A notice in the local paper records that St. Mary’s church was crowded for her solemn Requiem Mass. Many parishioners and ten priests attended her funeral liturgy - a testament to the high regard they had for Sister Caia.
Pictured here is the monument listing the deceased sisters buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario.
