1401 North Bosart  Indianapolis, Indiana 46201 Phone: (317) 353-2282     Fax: (317) 322-7702

Sister Sue Bradshaw, OSF, Ph.D. 

Class of 1949

Sister Sue Bradshaw, who graduated from Little Flower School in 1949, has an extensive and varied educational background rooted in Catholic Education.  Sister received her Bachelor’s degree from Marian College in History, followed by her Masters in American History from Xavier University. She later received her doctorate in Asian History from Georgetown University and completed a program for Leadership in Ministry at Gonzaga University.  

Sister’s extensive service in teaching ministries include 11 years in grade schools and 3 years in high school, serving as a supervising teacher for the University of Dayton. Since 1974 she has served in various capacities as an associate professor at Marian College, and worked during a portion of that time in Campus Ministry.  She also served as a member of the formation team for the Sacred Heart Province of Franciscan Friars.   She currently also ministers part-time as pastoral associate at St. Christopher parish in Indianapolis.   

She is a published author on subjects such as United States-East Asian Diplomatic Relations, Catholicism in China and the Work of Religious Women in China.  Sister Sue has given numerous presentations on these topics as well as prayer and Franciscanism. 

 Sister’s community service includes the Sisters of St. Francis Steering Committee, Sisters of St. Francis Women’s issues task force, Board for Indianapolis Metropolitan Campus Ministry, the Sister’s Association of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and the Indiana Newman Association Committee for Continuing Education for Campus Ministers.  

Sister Sue Bradshaw has received numerous recognitions and honors, including but not limited to being named as a Danforth Associate for College Teachers, an Ecumenical Leadership Citation from the Indiana Council of Churches, a Marian College Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Service and being named an Official Observer for Franciscans International at the United Nations Conference in Beijing.  

Sister looks back with gratitude to Little Flower Church and School for many things, especially:

• for nurturing my Catholic faith which was begun in my wonderful family
• For the excellent education provided me by the dedicated Oldenburg Franciscan Sisters and the parish priests
• For providing me with a sense of community and belonging, and with good roots.  Although it has been 60 years since I started school at Little Flower, several of my classmates and I keep in touch regularly 

One of Sister’s favorite memories includes being a member of the kickball team that won the CYO city championship while in the eighth grade.  She recalls learning team spirit while having lots of fun and making life-long friends.