Last September, Catholic Extension Society named Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM, MD, as the recipient of its 2024-2025 Lumen Christi Award for her outstanding service providing healthcare to uninsured patients in eastern Tennessee.
As medical director of St. Mary's Legacy Clinic, a mobile medical ministry of the Diocese of Knoxville, Sister Mary Lisa leads a dedicated team bringing essential healthcare to those most in need.
The clinic's impact has grown significantly under her leadership, with patient visits nearly doubling and services expanding to ten locations across rural Tennessee. Last year alone the clinic conducted nearly 1,500 patient visits and covered 11,000 miles serving their rural communities.
"In truth, this clinic belongs to the Lord, and in obedience I have the joy of being able to serve those in need as a religious sister and a physician." - Sister Mary Lisa Renfer
Sister Mary Lisa's path to this unusual dual vocation as both physician and religious sister began during a college mission trip to Ecuador, where witnessing children's suffering sparked her desire to help. She went on to earn her doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Michigan State University before joining St. Mary's Legacy Clinic in 2020 after completing her residency.
The Lumen Christi Award comes with a $50,000 grant to support the clinic's work. The award, Catholic Extension's highest honor, has been presented annually since 1978 to individuals who exemplify Christ's light in their communities.
A conversation with Sister Mary Lisa Renfer
Aleteia recently had the opportunity to ask Sister Mary Lisa Renfer a few questions about her work and vocation.
Do you have any advice for young people discerning a religious vocation, especially if they are also interested in medicine?
If you are discerning a religious vocation, the most important advice I have is to spend time in quiet with the Lord and trust that He is leading you through each moment closer to Him. It is an intense but beautiful time of waiting and prayer when you are seeking the Lord’s will for your life. If you are also interested in medicine, bring all this before the Lord. He works through the desires of our heart.
When I was in college, I changed my major three times in the process of trying to understand the desire to give all of myself to the Lord but also to try and keep in control! I was drawn to the field of medicine and to the care of those in need, but the persistent desire was simply to belong to the Lord.
When I was able to stop and spend time in quiet before the Lord, I realized that I wasn’t going to make my major “fit” what the Lord was inviting me into. I instead took time in adoration each day, attended Holy Mass, and regularly received the sacrament of Confession, and it was then that I was able to understand that the Lord desired me, as I desired to give my life to Him. It was ultimately in falling in love with our Lord offering Himself on the Cross that I found what I truly desired in life.
If you are discerning a religious vocation, don’t be afraid to make the choice to give yourself to Christ. Sometimes it can also be helpful to talk with a religious sister or vocations director about religious life. You can read some vocation stories on our website or email our Vocations Director at vocation@almamercy.org.
How will the Lumen Christi award support and extend your clinic's work?
The Lumen Christi award has already been a blessing in helping others know about our clinic’s work and connecting us with great partners for our patients’ care.
The funds from this award will also help us to provide free lab work, medications, and medical supplies for our growing number of patients. We also continue to grow our ability to bridge gaps in care, such as lack of transportation or inability to afford medications.
Our goal is always to care for the whole person, and the Lord has provided another way for us to go deeper in our care through the support of the Lumen Christi award.
What is the most important thing you would want people to know about your work?
The most important thing to know is that this work is not mine! In truth, this clinic belongs to the Lord, and in obedience I have the joy of being able to serve those in need as a religious sister and a physician.
Our whole team works together to provide care for our patients. What we do is a great privilege, as those we care for are the beloved ones our Lord always sought out during His time on earth. We are seldom able to cure disease, sometimes able to provide relief of physical symptoms, but always able to show the love of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Divine Physician and the healer of all hearts. I pray above all that our patients are able to encounter His love and healing through the work of this clinic.
