Sr. Claudia Riehl, OSB, the retired longtime director of mission integration at Benedictine Health System, died on Feb. 26, at age 88.
Sr. Riehl
Sr. Riehl "left her heart print on so many," said Sr. Lois Eckes, the prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth, Minn. "She loved life and put her whole heart and soul into it." Sr. Eckes said in Sr. Riehl's mission integration work, Sr. Riehl encouraged others to serve both with the heart of Christ and to care for others as though serving Christ himself.
Sr. Riehl was known for respecting each person for who they are, as well as her ability to focus wholly on each person she communicated with, to give each her full attention, Sr. Eckes said.
In 2010, Duluth-based Benedictine Health System established the Sister Claudia Riehl Living a Legacy employee recognition program. The annual award program recognizes one employee from each participating Benedictine organization and the corporate office who model Sr. Riehl's "commitment to the mission and core values" of the health system.
Sr. Riehl served in several roles with CHA, assisting on committees to select CHA award recipients and working groups and committees that provided leadership and education about community benefit.
A morning prayer, wake service and burial Mass were to be held on March 7 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel of St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth with burial at Gethsemane Cemetery on the monastery grounds.