Sister Therese Bangert has been a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth for 61 years.  She has taught primary school and special needs children as well as worked as a childcare worker for children who were out of their own homes because of abuse and abandonment.  One of Sister Therese’ life’s surprise gifts is her son, Gary.  This relationship began in her childcare days, and Gary has been one of her greatest teachers.

    For 40 years, Sister Therese has led prayer in prisons and jails.  She has been a lobbyist since 1987, having worked with legislators as a lobbyist around immigration, tax policy, programs that impact low-income families, and the death penalty.  Since 1996, Sister Therese has served as a volunteer police chaplain, serving at the scene of numerous homicides in Kansas City, Kansas as well as at the deaths of three of her Kansas City, Kansas communities’ KC law enforcement.

     In addition to being a childcare worker and lobbyist, since 1996, Sister Therese has been a member of Our Lady/St. Rose Church Family.  Their faith and praise are weekly gifts of grace to her.  For sixteen years, Sister Therese served as the coordinator of Social Justice for her community the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.  In December 2024, Sister Therese completed six years of service on the Boards of Community Housing Wyandotte County (CHWC) and she currently serves on the Board of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty since 1986.  

     Sister Therese has been blessed to have seven sisters and four brothers having grown up on a Nebraska farm.  One of her favorite things to do for ‘fun’ is to go to the farm at harvest time and ride the combine and grain trucks with her nephew and brothers.  Above all, Sister Therese strives to be a gospel-centered woman who believes in Jesus and His message in Matthew 25.