Karen Klimczak, S.S.J. (October 27, 1943 – April 14, 2006), a member of the

Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, was murdered there on April 14, 2006. She had just returned from

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

services.

Life

Klimczak ministered to women prisoners in a local prison, visiting them and helping their families. As a result of her experiences there, she, together with

the Rev. The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Roy Herberger, a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, had developed the goal of helping former prisoners in the Bissonette House, a home for parolees on the city's East Side. The home is named after a

, Joseph Bissonette, who had lived on site. Joseph was murdered in 1987 by a vagrant whom he was trying to help, as was his practice. In a repetition of history, it was one of the residents of the house who murdered Sister Karen, after she caught him stealing her cell phone. During the incident, the resident had been under the influence of

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

. Sister Karen Klimczak was well known throughout Buffalo. She had launched a campaign of leaving large cut-out doves at the scenes of Buffalo homicides. These doves, stating "I leave Peace Prints" became increasingly popular right after her death. The doves are now posted throughout the Buffalo community as a result of Peaceprints(TM) Prison Ministries, an organization started as a result of Sister Karen's work. During the 1970s, Klimczak was an elementary and junior high school teacher at St. Stanislaus School in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

Legacy

The SSJ Sister Karen Klimczak Center for Nonviolence was opened in February 2007 to continue the work she had done. It offers opportunities for people to learn and practice nonviolence. Offerings include training in the Alternatives to Violence Project, educational outreach and support for groups working with at-risk inner-city youth. A book was published by the congregation in 2008, ''Peaceprints: Sister Karen’s Paths to Nonviolence''.

Notes

References

* Angel for Ex-Convicts Is Killed at Halfway House She Ran. The New York Times, page B1, April 19, 2006. * Peace Prints, a son

1943 births 2006 deaths People from Buffalo, New York Sisters of Saint Joseph Schoolteachers from Massachusetts American murder victims People murdered in New York (state) Place of birth missing 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century American educators Educators from New York (state) 20th-century American women educators 2006 murders in the United States 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns {{US-crime-bio-stub