Sibling nuns faithfully visit former student imprisoned for murder

Published: 2005-02-16

DONALDSON, Ind. (CNS) -- Every month for the past six years two siblings -- Sisters David, 83, and Lorine Huelskamp, 82, both members of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, have made a two-hour journey to visit a former student of theirs who is serving a 45-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter. John Paul Kohn, 32, is an inmate in the Miami Correctional Facility at Bunker Hill. He told Today's Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, that the women "have provided me with a great deal of love, healing and redemption." The sisters first met Kohn in 1984, when he was a 12-year-old student at St. Vincent de Paul School in Fort Wayne. Sister Lorine was the associate principal and Sister David was his sixth-grade homeroom teacher. Kohn said their commitment has been a major influence in his personal growth. "I have found through their example what true love means," he said. "They have taught me about forgiveness, acceptance, healing and redemption. They have provided a tangible love of God that transcends religious dogma and makes the mercy of Jesus Christ come alive."

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