Sr. Natalie Binversie reflects on years of service as community director
Story and photography by Suzanne Weiss | For On Mission
MANITOWOC, WI — Installation of the newly elected general administration of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity took place Sunday, July 13, 2025.
The election of the religious order’s new leadership came less than two months after the Catholic Church elected Leo XIV as its new pope.
On Monday, June 23, 2025, the general chapter of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity elected Sr. Marlita Henseler as community director, replacing Sr. Natalie Binversie. Elected to her council were: Sr. Pamela Biehl, first councilor; Sr. Anne Turba, second councilor; Sr. Jacqueline Spaniola, third councilor; and Sr. Carol Ann Gambsky, fourth councilor.
No white smoke came billowing from the chimney, but a gong rang indoors and the Angelus bells tolled outside, signaling that a decision had been made.
The procedure, like the papal election, was shrouded in secrecy.
Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay opened the proceedings with Mass.
This was followed by a silent procession to the chapter hall by Bishop Ricken, 35 capitulars (sisters elected by the religious community to be their delegates), five members of the present administration and one sister serving as secretary, in charge of drawing up official documents for the archives.
The doors closed. Roll call was taken. The secretary and the tellers who handled the ballots were forbidden to reveal the contents of the sisters’ votes.
Each ballot was folded, deposited in the ballot box, then read aloud and tallied. A two-thirds majority is needed to be elected as community director.
Once Sr. Marlita accepted the office, the religious community was summoned to St. Mary’s Chapel, where the results of the election were announced to all.
Sr. Natalie later presided over the election of the four new councilors, which followed a similar procedure.
This July, she completed two six-year terms as community director of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. Throughout the past 12 years, Sr. Natalie has overseen hundreds of sisters and more than half a dozen buildings on the Holy Family Convent grounds overlooking Silver Lake in Manitowoc.
“It was an honor to serve all the people that I was privileged to serve all those years, and I’ll keep them in prayer,” said Sr. Natalie Binversie, who is assisting the newly elected community director, Sr. Marlita Henseler. “It’s time for someone else to take over, and I will be very supportive of that transition.”
Once the transition is complete, Sr. Natalie will continue to do community service in some capacity as assigned by the new administration, she said.
Her favorite part of the position was “getting to know the sisters … in support of their spiritual growth and development,” she said. “My hopes for the future: I just pray that young women will be open and listen to God’s invitation to serve him as a religious sister and find that great joy that I have found in hearing that call and responding. The doors of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are always open.”
Sr. Natalie’s doors also have been open to those who need her, whether elderly sisters or sisters in formation, said Sr. Theresa Feldkamp, second councilor of four who made up the general administration headed by Sr. Natalie.
“She is very available to God … and very much to other people,” said Sr. Theresa, who also described Sr. Natalie as optimistic and down-to-earth.
“She has a sense of humor and that comes through at various times,” Sr. Theresa said. “She knows just the right things to say. She’s a very hopeful person.”
It was not unusual to see Sr. Natalie — in addition to her duties as head of the convent — pitching in to wash dishes, picking rhubarb or even shoveling snow in winter, Sr. Theresa said.
“I would call Sr. Natalie a communal leader,” said Sr. Myra Jean Sweigart, Sr. Natalie’s first councilor.
“Collaborative means you work together, but communal is more in-depth,” Sr. Myra Jean said. “It helped each of us become better community members by her example of how to work together … always for the common good.”
“Sr. Natalie is a truly humble leader and open to suggestions and ideas,” Sr. Myra Jean said. “(She) uses her wisdom to refine all of that and make it all good for the Lord. Her strength comes from her prayer life. She is amazingly connected to the Lord.”
One of the first hurdles Sr. Natalie said she had to overcome when she was elected 12 years ago was her own nature.
“I am definitely introverted and shy, so I have had to … be more assertive and be more that public figure,” said Sr. Natalie, the second oldest of 11 children born into a farm family who lived two miles west of St. Nazianz.
She entered the religious community after graduating from high school in 1966 and made her first vows in 1969.
Other more recent challenges included the COVID pandemic, the closing of Holy Family College in 2020, the acquisition of Holy Family Memorial Medical Center by Froedtert Health in 2021, and the decline in membership over the years.
As always, Sr. Natalie put her trust in God’s will and strove to do “what is in the best interests of the community going forward to make life viable for sisters who will continue to enter the community and those who are here,” she said.
Sr. Natalie emphasized the importance of community and collaboration within it.
“It was very important to work with the four sisters on the council,” she said. “All decision-making was made with them and sometimes the whole community.”
Her takeaway from the past 12 years includes the importance of having “an open heart and attitude to learning and to listening to the wisdom of the people in our lives and participating as fully as possible … and definitely depending on the center of our lives that is Jesus,” she said. “The Holy Spirit is there always guiding us.”
Sr. Natalie also completes her term as community chair of Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Sponsored Ministries, comprising of health care facilities owned by the religious community.
In May, Sr. Natalie finished her term on the board of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay, a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of social services to individuals and families in Northeastern Wisconsin.
“We are grateful for her support for all these years,” said Karmen Lemke, executive director of Catholic Charities.
Sr. Natalie “really helped me open doors,” Lemke said. “She helped me build bridges to the hospital and parishes … she was a connector to the rural communities of the lakeshore. Those introductions were extremely important.”
“What I really appreciate about (Sr. Natalie) is she has always been my prayer warrior … and our prayers have been answered,” Lemke said.