Sometimes, it is difficult to appreciate the difference that certain individuals who live in our community make for our world. We have citizens right in our own neighborhoods who live unique lives of which we are unaware.
One of those people is Teresa Kettelkamp, a Springfield resident who, on May 1 of this year, was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as the Adjunct Secretary for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults for a term ending in 2027.
What prepares someone for such a responsible position? The answer lies in many years of experience and successful achievements: She retired as a Colonel with the Illinois State Police after 29 years of expertise in policies, during which she headed the ISP’s Division of Internal Investigation and the Division of Forensic Services.
From 2005-2011, she was appointed by the US Conference of Bishops in Washington to be the Executive Director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection in Washington, D.C. She later moved to Rome to work in her field of expertise in developing international safeguarding guidelines.
Returning home to family in 2017, she served as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and as moderator for the working group focused on integrating the voice of the survivor into the ministry of the Church.
Teresa is a graduate of Quincy College and is the mother of two grown children and five grandchildren.
She takes no personal credit for all of her accomplishments, thanking God for leading her to the path she has taken when she asked what was in store for her upon retirement from the State Police.
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