Muhlenberg County Associates hosted an open house in honor of Sister Rose Karen Johnson’s retirement on Sunday, November 8, 2016. The open house was held at St. Joseph Church, Central City, where Sister Rose Karen ministered for 20 years.

The associates purchased commemorative bricks in the Mount Saint Joseph Rosary Walk in honor of Sister Rose Karen and her sister, the late Sister Rose Theresa Johnson. A framed certificate was presented at the open house.

Sister Rose Karen Johnson was officially welcomed home to Mount Saint Joseph at a special ceremony in the dining room on Jan. 7, 2016. The ceremony included song and prayer. “The ‘Welcome Home’ party is all about community building,” said Sister Mary Matthias Ward, director of local community life.

Sister Rose Karen, a native of St. Lawrence, Ky., entered the Ursuline community as a novice in 1958 (she will be celebrating her 70^th jubilee year as an Ursuline Sister in 2018). She was an educator for 29 years. She was principal of St. Mary Carrico School, Knottsville (1978-81); St. Peter of Alcantara, Stanley (1981-82); Precious Blood School, Owensboro (1982-83), and St. Mary Magdalene School, Sorgho (1983-85). She also taught at St. Mary Carrico from 1971-78, as well as in Leitchfield, the Archdiocese of Louisville and in Missouri. She served two years as a parish minister in Georgetown, Ind. From 1992-95, Sister Rose Karen was assistant local superior and director of transportation for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Since 1995, she ministered as a pastoral associate and healing touch therapist at St. Joseph Catholic Center, Greenville, before retiring in 2015. (Her late sister, Sister Rose Theresa Johnson, who was also a member of the Ursuline community, joined her in ministry in Greenville in 1999 until her death in 2012.)