Why do 1,000 Catholic sisters from four Midwestern states descend for two nights on a Chicago-area dinner theater for a meal and to watch a performance of The King and I?

What one sister calls “Nuns Night Out” is the brainchild of the theater’s 93-year-old owner, Anthony DeSantis. For 50 years he has been showing his appreciation for sisters’ contributions to society by treating them to dinner and a show. “I just always thought that the nuns do so much in this country of ours, teaching our children in grade schools and high schools,” said DeSantis, who did not attend Catholic school himself but sent his daughters to a Catholic high school.

Besides the entertainment, what the sisters seem to treasure the most is seeing one another. “It’s fabulous,” Franciscan Sister Marjorie Westendorf told the Chicago Sun-Times. “The conversation and just the being with. I think we all know sisters from other communities that we look forward to seeing.”