StoryCorps Chicago: Nuns Retire After Decades Serving Bronzeville Church

Sister Ann Rubly and Sister Marilyn Freking retired recently after decades of service at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Bronzeville.
Sister Ann Rubly and Sister Marilyn Freking retired recently after decades of service at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Bronzeville. Courtesy of StoryCorps
Sister Ann Rubly and Sister Marilyn Freking retired recently after decades of service at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Bronzeville.
Sister Ann Rubly and Sister Marilyn Freking retired recently after decades of service at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Bronzeville. Courtesy of StoryCorps

StoryCorps Chicago: Nuns Retire After Decades Serving Bronzeville Church

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

In 1933, a group of Catholic nuns moved from Dubuque, Iowa to a church in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. 

The Sisters of St. Francis came to serve as teachers at the school of Corpus Christi Catholic Church at 49th and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive for decades. Their group eventually grew to more than 20 nuns, but now the last two are retiring.

They’re heading back to Iowa, to join the rest of their religious community. Sisters Ann Rubly and Marilyn Freking spoke with each other at the StoryCorps booth at the Chicago Cultural Center, about their time at Corpus Christi and what the parish has meant.

StoryCorps’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips.