“This is a great day to come together to remember Kirsten Hansen Zeiss and to thank Carolyn Apperson (her mother) for her contribution to this shrine, this place dedicated to her memory,” said Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost as he began a blessing of the shrine at the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe.
Apperson, a lay ecclesial minister, is the parish catechetical leader for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. She also teaches at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, which is on the CPL campus.
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The shrine features a statue of St. Therese of Lisieux and a bench where people can pause to reflect, to pray and to enjoy the serene setting. The statue was moved to the CPL about 15 years ago from its former location at the now-closed St. Joseph Christian Life Center in Cleveland.
Dr. Zeiss, a family practitioner and Apperson’s only child, died In December 2018 a short time after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor. She was 34 and left behind her husband, Daniel, a 4-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son. The Zeiss family lives in Virginia.
Bishop Martin Amos, retired bishop of Davenport, Iowa and a former Cleveland auxiliary bishop, also participated in the dedication and blessing, which was attended by about 40 of Apperson’s family members, friends and co-workers.
The weather was mild, but overcast as the group gathered outdoors for the ceremony.
Bishop Woost noted that Apperson and Zeiss have a devotion to St. Therese, a Carmelite nun, who suffered from tuberculosis and died at a young age. In the late 19th century, there was no cure for the disease. He said St. Therese was comforted by her fellow nuns and her blood sisters. She also was a prolific writer and had a great devotion to the Eucharist.
In a reflection written not long before her death, St. Therese said it didn’t matter much if she lived or died because there was nothing in this life that she won’t have in the next, noting that she was in the presence of the Lord in her earthly life, as she would be in the next life.
“Jesus reminded his disciples that those who loved him would receive an outpouring of the Spirit,” the bishop said, referring to the Lord’s presence on earth and a foretelling of the life to come.
He reminded Apperson that the love she has for her daughter doesn’t end with her death. “It’s eternal. I hope that those who pray here at this shrine will be drawn into the love of God and the love of all in eternal life.”
By being drawn into this love, the bishop said we can remember St. Therese and Zeiss, who like the saint died young, and was brought into eternal life.
“This is a place of rest and hope, a sign of our hope for unending life. May we grow to maturity not by nature but by the fulfillment of Christ,” Bishop Woost added.
A sign next to the statue features a quote from St. Therese: “The world is thy ship, not thy home.” A memorial plaque will be added soon to the bench.