Ione Nieland       
Sister Ione Nieland, FSPA (formerly Sister Mara, FSPA)   

Sister Ione is the daughter of Lawrence and Helen (Sanders) Nieland and great granddaughter of John Gerhard and Maria Christina (Nienhues) Nieland. She grew up on a farm southeast of Breda, Iowa. After graduating from St. Bernard's High School in 1957, she attended Viterbo College in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. In January , 1958, she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) and took the name Sister Mara. Her First Profession of vows was in 1960 and Final Profession was in 1965. She received her B.A. from Viterbo College , M.A. from the University of San Francisco and M.P.S. from Loyola University in Chicago. Through the years, she ministered as teacher and administrator in elementary and secondary schools, as a pastoral minister, and as formation director for the FSPA congregation. In 1998, Sister Ione moved to Ames, Iowa, where she helps in the care of her elderly parents and works part-time at Iowa State University.

Photo: Sister Ione, about 1990

return to Called to the Faith