Katharine, the daughter of Frank and Caroline Imwinkelried, was born in Switzerland April 17, 1885. (Later on, the family name was officially changed to Reid). She came to the United States in October, 1912 at the age of twenty-eight and entered the community at Clyde on February 5, 1913. She was invested with the religious habit on July 5, 1913 and professed on August 5, 1914. Perpetual vows were made March 5, 1921. From the beginning, the number FIVE figured prominently in her religious life. In addition to the above named dates, her patron was St. Pius V and his patronal feast on the 5th of May. Sister took this as a symbol of the Five Holy Wounds of her Divine Bridegroom, and of suffering, which she embraced courageously as it came to her in rich measure with the passing years.

Small in stature and frail in body, but with an indomitable will, Sister M. Pia carried out with edifying zeal during the thirty-three years of her religious life the Benedictine motto: "Pray and Labor," and “That in all things GOD may be glorified." She was a very capable tailor and seamstress, and could in a short time turn out cassocks for priests and seminarians: rabats, birettas, skull caps, and other articles which are difficult to make. It was for her a great privilege to do this for God’s anointed priests and those who would become such. Her workmanship was excellent, and many priests remarked that they could not get anything to compare with it, even in the best tailor shops. She also did much sewing for poor children in Europe.

Besides sewing, Sister prepared the manuscripts and edited Tabernakel und Fegefeuer for many years, even when confined to the infirmary. She helped Father Lukas with the German correspondence after World War I, and wrote letters to our German benefactors and subscribers.

Beginning with June 5, 1935, when Sister M. Pia had her first heart attack, the last twelve years of her life were marked with continual and intense suffering. She would not consent to take pain medicine of any kind, believing that our Lord wished her to bear these sufferings in union with Him. She said He would never give her more than He knew she could bear with His help. Even during these years she was never idle, and continued her sewing when at all possible. When exhorted to spare herself she would say that it gave her great joy to do things for others, and to unite her work with her sufferings; also that it helped her to forget her aches and pains. A year before her death she suffered a serious spinal injury. When the doctor declared she would never walk again she remarked naively: "We will see what God wants." Contrary to expectations, it was not long before Sister was again making her way down the hall to the sewing room. 

She often said that her whole life was a preparation for death and she would welcome it at any time God willed. Even when not seriously ill, she would ask the Sisters to pray that her death would be an act of perfect love of God. She died at the age of sixty-two, September 10, 1947, with the promise that she would not forget her superiors or sisters who had been so good to her.