Rose Braker–Woman of Faith

Rose grew up in the city of Kaliningrad (during WWII it was called Königsberg) with was part of Germany at the time.  She became part of a military women’s outfit that manned Searchlights in Berlin during WWII. She was a dedicated Christian from her youth and had many inspiring faith stories from WWII. She became a Lutheran pastor’s wife and was very active in her faith. She and her husband led many retreats for youth in Europe. Her family eventually moved to Portland.  After her husband died, she moved in at St. Anthony Village and settled in the Independent Living Building called Villa St. Margaret. Since she lived near St. Anthony, she started going to church here. Fr. Pat invited her to consider joining the Church through RCIA, but she was reluctant to do so.  But, she eventually started to come to the RCIA classes.  On one occasion, Fr. Pat asked her if she had a pen.  She pulled one out of her purse and it fell down in between her seat and another seat.  When she got home she realized that her purse with her credit cards was missing.  She came over to the Parish Hall and someone told her to pray to St. Anthony to find it.  She said that she couldn’t because she wasn’t Catholic.  They told her that anyone can pray to St. Anthony.  She prayed and said that if he helped her find her purse she would consider more seriously becoming Catholic.  When she entered the room where RCIA was held, she heard the words, “humble yourself and get down on your knees.” She did so and found her purse under the table.  She became Catholic and joined St. Anthony.  She blessed us here at St. Anthony with her strong faith and many faith stories from her past.