Call | Fall 2023

From the Prioress

Greetings! This is my first Call letter as prioress, and it's a joy to share with you why I chose “confident and unafraid” as the theme for my installation. I am confident and unafraid above all because, as Isaiah tells us, God is our salvation, our might, and our strength. I am confident and unafraid because I am supported by an amazing community, excited about stepping into the future, sharing our wisdom and experience to continue the legacy of faith, prayer and action with which our foremothers have gifted us. I am confident and unafraid because we are blessed by friends like you whose Benedictine hearts and generosity support us in our mission.

As I look at our future, something else makes me confident and unafraid. I first came to the monastery as a scholar in our Studium program in July 2005. I had no intention of joining this, or any other, religious organization. I had a life that I loved. I enjoyed spending time with family and friends, both men and women, traveling, and attending opera, ballet, plays, concerts and movies. I had always tried to work in jobs that were in some way intended to make the lives of others better. Life was generous to me. And yet…I always felt there was something missing and somehow marriage and children didn’t feel as if they were things to fill the gap.

So, what was missing? I can answer this simply. It was God. Although I had a rich and searching spiritual life, it was only when I came to the monastery that I realized I wanted God to be front and center, not simply a part of my life. We all have our vocations, all equally precious, and I honestly

believe that there are women out there who have desires similar to mine and that God will help them find the way to the place they need to be. If you’re one of them, don’t hesitate to start asking questions of our vocation team (pp. 12–13). A word of advice: Don’t be afraid to admit that you thirst for God!

There’s one final way in which I am confident and unafraid right now. Stewardship is a key Benedictine value, and our sisters take it seriously. We have, for some time, been discussing our future and how we can best serve the local community, the Church and the world as 21st-century Benedictine women. This includes assessing our ministries and our buildings. We are planning to continue our presence both at Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn., and Saint Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud, Minn., but we are in agreement that the Saint Benedict site needs some streamlining. This means that we will be building anew and also repurposing current buildings. We have employed an architectural firm, and you’ll likely see some professional activity on the campus. At the time of writing, we don’t have precise details to share and will update you as things become clearer. Please pray that the decisions we make will help us move into an exciting future, confident and unafraid!

In hope and trust,

“God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid.”

(Isaiah 12:2)

Karen Rose, OSB, Prioress

There are three sisters at Saint Scholastica Convent who are former prioresses of different Benedictine communities that merged with ours: Sisters Margaret Michaud and Patricia Ostrander (Saint Bede

Call | Number 8 – Fall 2023

Karen Rose, OSB, Prioress, Consultant Editor

Amanda Hackett, Editor, Graphic Designer

Renée Domeier, OSB, Proofreader

On the Cover: The monastery's new leadership team (clockwise from front left): Sister Karen Rose, prioress; Sister Jeanne Marie Lust, treasurer; Sister Colleen Quinlivan, community secretary; and Sister Sharon Nohner, subprioress.

Photos: Carleen Schomer, OSB, Karen Streveler, OSB, Marina Schlangen, OSB, Nancy Bauer, OSB, unless otherwise noted or supplied by individual sisters or Saint Benedict’s Monastery Archives

Printing: Palmer Printing

Call is published annually by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn., and celebrates the sisters’ call and commitment to monastic life.

The living prioresses of Saint Benedict's Monastery (left to right): Sisters Ephrem Hollermann, Michaela Hedican, Susan Rudolph, Karen Rose, Mary Reuter, Katherine Howard and Nancy Bauer

Monastery, Eau Claire, Wis.) and Sister Mary Zenzen (Mount Benedict Monastery, Ogden, Utah)

Everlasting is God's Love

As we joyfully welcome our new leadership team, we can't forget to remember in gratitude the leadership that has paved the path to today. We are grateful to our prior leadership team for all they have done for our community during the past six years, including helping us navigate an unprecedented global pandemic!

Thank you to Sister Susan Rudolph, former prioress (front); Sister Mary Weidner, former subprioress (back right); Sister Karen Streveler, former treasurer (back left); and Sister Colleen Quinlivan, former and current community secretary (back center).

Faithful Transitions

Amanda Hackett

After being elected prioress, Sister Karen Rose, former director of mission advancement, had the responsibility of filling her vacated role. She selected Sister Michaela Hedican, whom many of you will know for her service as prioress of Saint Benedict's Monastery from 2011–2017 and most recently as director of oblates for the past five years.

S. Michaela's transition meant that her position was now open, as well. In the past, oblate directors have always been sisters, but after taking counsel, the monastery leadership team decided it was the right time to appoint a director from within the oblate community. With faith, Mary Stommes, an oblate of our community, was selected. She comes to us after previously serving as editor and writer at Give Us This Day, and she is also known and appreciated as a retreat director and has given retreats for several Benedictine communities, including ours.

Please pray for S. Karen, S. Michaela and Mary as they each embrace the Lord's call into a new ministry!

“Gratitude for all our benefactors who support us in so many ways and appreciation for sharing our Benedictine heritage with others animates my delight as I assume my new ministry as director of mission advancement. It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of Sister Gen Maiers and our new prioress, Sister Karen Rose.”

Michaela Hedican, OSB, Director of Mission Advancement

“There is so much wisdom and goodness within the monastic and oblate communities, a shared love for the Gospel and the Rule of St. Benedict. As oblate director, I look forward, first of all, to listening to that wisdom, to learning from it. The Benedictine charisms and practices speak deeply to the hearts of oblates and those exploring the oblate way of life—and through oblates, the Church and the world are more hospitable and prayerful, more committed to peacemaking and listening and the common good. I look forward to living my own oblate commitment more faithfully, this as I take a leadership role among oblates in this way of life.”

Mary Stommes, OblSB, Director of Oblates

2023 Jubilee Classes

75th jubilee class (left to right): Sisters Suzanne Slominski, Stephen Kurpiers, Susan Rudolph (thenprioress), Annella Mayerhofer and Jane Weber

Pictured inset left: Sister Mary Pattison

60th jubilee class (left to right): Sisters Ardella Kvamme, Rosa Li, Susan Rudolph and Ephrem Hollermann

Celebrating 75 Years: Annella Mayerhofer, OSB

s the sixth child in a family of 13 children born to John and Matilda, Sister Annella learned early the values of obedience, hard work, prayer and the give-andtake of living with others. She attended elementary school in New Market, Minn., until the sixth grade, the year her father died. Her mother then moved the family to Jordan, Minn.

S. Annella learned about religious life from her two Benedictine aunts, Sister Mary Hubert from Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn., and Sister Sabina Ann Haus from St. Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul, Minn. Her mother encouraged S. Annella’s religious vocation, so after completion of eighth grade, she went to St. Benedict’s High School in St. Joseph and entered the novitiate at Saint Benedict’s Convent, St. Joseph, in 1947.

After her novitiate, S. Annella attended the Diocesan Teachers’ College in St. Paul for two years where she earned a certificate in education. She also earned a bachelor’s degree at the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, with a major in English and a minor in philosophy.

Following her first profession, S. Annella spent 29 years as a teacher. She felt privileged to prepare the children for the sacraments of reconciliation and first communion. Skilled in crafts, she made many fish mobiles for sale at both Whitby Gift Shop at Saint Benedict’s Monastery and the gift shop at Saint Scholastica Convent, our retirement home for our sisters in St. Cloud, Minn. While serving as assistant to the motherhouse coordinator for 17 years and then ministering at the Art and Heritage Place, she found time for quilling and tatting which she made into beautiful cards.

S. Annella never liked being in the limelight,

Aexcept when she was asked to recite some of the poetry she had memorized. Many of us remember the poetry she recited at community parties. Fewer of us know about the poetry she wrote as she faithfully lived out her commitment to monastic life and personally experienced the Paschal Mystery through disappointments, the loss of loved ones in death, and the inevitable conflicts and misunderstandings that are part of life. With her permission, I share a poem she wrote during a retreat in 1981: “The Ebb and Flow of Love.”

Yesterday’s love soared high and lifted as on a mighty wave.

The joy of it! The ecstasy!

Today, no warning given, it fell; only faith enlivened the ebbing unfeelingness of love.

The Pain of it! The loss!

And hope will help it swell again, to crest, and billow high. For Christ, my hope, reaches down to catch me to the sky.

The expectancy! The desire!

Thank you, S. Annella, for 75 years of fidelity to your Benedictine vocation. You often express appreciation for being able to pray in community three times a day. Thank you for the inspiration you have been to us. We celebrate God’s grace in and through you!

Eunice Antony, OSB

S. Annella with birds she made out of ribbon

Celebrating 75 Years: Jane (Evelyn) Weber, OSB Bernadette Weber, OSB

Who is Sister Jane Weber? She says of herself, “I am plain Jane. What you see is what you get.” She accepts herself as she is which enables her to love, accept and welcome everyone else as they are. Hers is a joyful spirit, always seeing the good in others.

S. Jane was born on November 21, 1927, the fourth of 12 children in rural St. Martin, Minn. As the oldest girl, she soon became “mother’s helper.” She attended District #125, a country school of eight grades with one teacher. Her teacher was understanding and allowed her to take both the fifth and sixth grades in one year so she could finish school sooner to help her mother. Although S. Jane loved children and cared for her younger siblings, she also felt the call to join the Benedictines. When I, the next one in the family rank, graduated from eighth grade, she could freely leave home for the convent.

After her first monastic profession, S. Jane was assigned to work in the monastery kitchen. At the time, the community had a large vegetable garden. The kitchen sisters did a lot of canning, often working through the night, yet they showed up for early Morning Prayer. Young live-in girls known as “maids” helped in the kitchen, and S. Jane was their prefect for five years. Her positive attitude and love of community attracted some of them to join the community.

S. Jane served as cook and homemaker for the

sisters in Long Prairie, Minn., and at St. Mary’s Convent in St. Cloud, Minn. While at St. Mary’s, she was chosen to go to Japan in 1962, a total surprise for she had not volunteered for the foreign missions. This proved to be a wonderfully broadening experience for her.

In 1972, the Winter Olympics were held in Japan, and the Japanese newspaper was having a difficult time finding translators. Aware that American sisters were teaching in the school, they asked if any could be translators. S. Jane knew the German spoken at home, Japanese learned mostly from the kindergarten children, and English. She was not afraid to make mistakes in speaking Japanese, and she attended the Pre-Olympics in 1971. Being a translator for the Olympics was beyond S. Jane’s hopes, and she will never forget that experience.

Upon returning from Japan in 1975, S. Jane was assigned to Red Lake Indian Mission in Red Lake, Minn.—another new culture and people. She loved the variety of work: in school, meeting the children, workers and staff and serving the children’s lunches, as well as being a parish visitor and being involved in domestic work at the convent. In 1989, S. Jane was called back to Saint Benedict’s Monastery to be the motherhouse coordinator, where she later joined the housekeeping team. She enjoyed both the people with whom she worked and those she served.

In 2018, S. Jane moved to Saint Scholastica Convent, our retirement center in St. Cloud. She likes the more leisurely pace of life there. S. Jane attends Eucharist streamed from chapel with the sisters in the memory care hall and is their communion minister on assigned days. She also takes her turn praying the rosary with them.

S. Jane continues her love of manual labor by daily folding the wash for the sisters on the nursing floor, and her hobbies include embroidering dish towels for the gift shop, playing scrabble, and visiting with guests and sisters, including her classmate at nearby St. Benedict’s Senior Community. She always takes time to be totally present with others.

The Weber family

Celebrating 75 Years: Mary Pattison, OSB

Born in 1927 into a hardworking farm family in western Wisconsin, Sister Mary Pattison grew up with five sisters and two brothers. The Pattison family was active in the local Catholic church, and the children attended the parochial school.

In 1944, S. Mary joined Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn. Two days after her perpetual profession, she became one of the 82 Benedictine sisters who formed the new Saint Bede Monastery in Eau Claire, Wis. She had studied music education in college and worked with other members of the community in parochial schools in the Diocese of La Crosse as classroom music teacher, parish organist, and choir director.

S. Mary thoroughly enjoyed the children in her classroom music classes. At times, she would ask them questions about their homes and families… and received more details than she anticipated! She asked Bobby one day about what was happening at his farm home. He spoke up loud and clear that “The damned cows had gotten out into the cornfield again last night and his daddy was sick and tired of it!” She would chuckle in a deep tone as she left the classroom saying, “Carry on now, they are all yours!”

With a master’s degree in teaching religious studies, S. Mary taught at Saint Bede Academy while also serving as subprioress and liturgist

at the monastery throughout the 1970s. During these years, refugees from southeastern Asia were arriving and settling in several cities of the diocese, including Eau Claire, and she became a tireless advocate for the well-being of these people.

A lifelong deep concern for ecumenism led S. Mary to work on several committees with special attention to celebrations of the Christian Unity Octave. A woman of study and searching, she read widely, often into the night. Periodicals on world, religious and liturgical happenings were always close at hand on her desk.

For a third career, S. Mary took on the service of parish minister. She delighted in preparing and enriching the faith among the people of the parish. Her concern for liturgy continued in the parish through visiting the sick and elderly in hospitals and in their homes.

When Saint Bede Monastery merged with Saint Benedict’s Monastery in 2010, S. Mary was among the 28 sisters who returned to St. Joseph. With the weight of years and declining health, she now resides at St. Benedict’s Senior Community in St. Cloud, Minn.

Her lived example of lifelong learning is a tribute to this student in the School of the Lord’s Service (Rule of Benedict, Prologue 45). At the time of her 50th jubilee, S. Mary stated, “Liturgy, in fact, has been at the heart of my study and work as organist and work with parishes and worship committees. After all, liturgy is central to the life of every Christian, certainly for Benedictines.”

Congratulations to you, S. Mary Pattison, as you celebrate 75 faithful years in the School of the Lord’s Service!

S. Mary entered eternal life on July 18, 2023. This magazine was already in production. Please hold S. Mary in prayer as we honor her life and legacy.

Judith Kramer, OSB

S. Mary riding a horse

S. Mary skiing

Celebrating 75 Years: Stephen (Angeline) Kurpiers, OSB

or as long as I have known her, Sister Stephen has exemplified for me a person whose life is modeled on the highpriestly and longing prayer of Jesus for those He loved: “Father, I have made Your name known to those whom you gave me. They were yours and you gave them to me… May they all be one as we are one...” (John 17).

S. Stephen often reads our prayer petition board and has little trouble guessing about what is needed and helpful at this time in our world. She would say: “Awareness and a caring heart fit well into our life and ministry here at Saint Scholastica Convent [our retirement center in St. Cloud, Minn.]. Our bulletin board, the daily newspaper, and TV headlines alert us to our world situation and the needs of our human family. Being aware helps my heart to care and be inspired to pray.”

S. Stephen was first aware of the voice of God calling her to be a Benedictine one afternoon after having finished grade school. She was in the garden picking plums and a voice “too real to imagine” invited her to be a sister. She reflects, “I left my plum pail, went to find my mother, and told her what happened. What was marvelous

Fwas that my mother said that I should talk to Pa. He believed me as well. It was I who did not know I wanted to be a sister until this happened…By September 1943, at age 13, I was at Saint Ben’s. I had a suitcase and a box in my possession. I arrived late for high school classes and had a lot of makeup work to do!” S. Stephen seemed to catch up well and realized many longings of her heart.

The longing, stretching prayer of Jesus is how S. Stephen has long stretched out her hand and life to serving others. She listens, communicates and bends toward those who surround her. She has been an educator all her life including in the St. Joseph Lab School, St. Joseph, Minn., for 16 years, two summer school courses in the Bahamas teaching reading and language arts, and at the Red Lake Indian Mission in Red Lake, Minn., for 12 years—all within her 75 years as a smiling, generous Benedictine.

Her ever-present desire is to help students know that Jesus wants to fill their hearts, and she tells the story of God whenever she can, passionately believing in God’s desire to be so close that nothing can separate or divide us from God or from one another. I imagine God tenderly speaking words of assurance to S. Stephen: “Well done, good and faithful servant…” (Luke 19:17) and “What you have done for these, you have done for Me” (Matthew 25:40).

Renée Domeier, OSB

Teaching at Red Lake

Teaching in the Bahamas

Celebrating 75 Years: Suzanne (Stanley) Slominski, OSB

orn in Valley City, N.D., Sister Suzanne was the third child born to Lee and Anne Slominski. Lee and Anne’s second daughter, Annetta Marie, had died as an infant. S. Suzanne remembers her dad telling her how happy they were that she was born healthy and that she was so tiny, she fit into a shoebox. She was, however, an inch too long, so they had to shorten her neck a bit, thus creating the scar on the back of her neck that she has to this day. Is there any doubt as to where she got her wonderful sense of humor?

At age two, S. Suzanne’s family moved to St. Cloud, Minn., where her father purchased and operated a filling station. While at the gas station, 4-4 was a telephone number well used by the children. It could be dialed easily and quickly: “‘Dad, could Leon and I take a nickel for ice cream?’ Dad always said, ‘Yes.’”

It was at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Mary’s Grade School where S. Suzanne began her relationship with the Benedictine sisters. She also attended Cathedral High School in St. Cloud and fondly remembers her high school days. Sadly, it was during these years that S. Suzanne’s beloved father was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away shortly after.

In the fall of 1946, S. Suzanne entered the monastery where her artistic talent was quickly discovered, and she was assigned to work with Sister Josiah Kiess in artistic endeavors. The following year, she entered the novitiate as Sister Stanley. After making first monastic profession, she was immediately assigned to the White Earth Indian School in White Earth, Minn., where

Bshe taught fifth and sixth grades. There, her 75 years in Catholic education began in earnest. To this day, the people of White Earth hold a special place in her heart, and she continues to receive cards and visits from former students.

Next came principalship at St. Paul’s School in St. Cloud, Holy Family School in Sauk Centre, Minn., and St. John’s-St. Andrew’s School in Greenwald, Minn. The Benedictine value of hospitality lives strongly in S. Suzanne as she interacts with her fellow sisters, students, staff and parishioners with a twinkle in her eye, a listening ear, and a heart always open to others. Several years ago, a writer for the St. Cloud Visitor, the former newspaper of the Diocese of St. Cloud, described her as the “St. John the Baptist of rural Minnesota.”

Being a lifelong learner herself, S. Suzanne completed a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees, along with a specialist degree in administration, during summer breaks. Being an Apple computer specialist, she was among the pioneers in technology training in the Diocese of St. Cloud. As an exemplary Catholic educator, she was awarded the National Catholic Principal of the Year by the National Catholic Education Association.

In retirement, S. Suzanne enjoys volunteering at schools and with Benedictine Friends, our program that pairs a sister with a College of Saint Benedict student, teaching glass painting to students. A slower pace allows her time for praying for others as she crochets prayer shawls for the elderly.

Asked if she would recommend religious life to others, she responds with a smile:

“Absolutely. If given the chance, I would do it all over again. I have been so blessed.”

Thank you, S. Suzanne, our city girl-turned-country, for generously sharing yourself and bearing much fruit over the past 75 years.

Janine Braun, OSB

S. Suzanne (right) with her housemate, Sister Janine Braun, and their dog, George

Meet the New Vocation Team

Director of Vocation Ministry: Marilyn Mark, OSB

People who know me say that I’m straightforward and plainspoken. Maybe it’s my background as a farm girl, tending, nurturing and watching things grow, that led to a natural fit working with college students in Utah. A former student recently commented on our 30-year friendship, thanking me for being a loyal and inspiring friend as she pursued a circuitous route through life. I prize these relationships and look forward to helping future vocations discern God’s call in their lives as they listen and seek a vocation in Benedictine life or serving the Church in another way.

Working with vocations is exciting, but it can also be discouraging. Recent developments in communication such as Zoom provide the opportunity to connect with candidates and work with other vocation directors supporting those seeking religious life. These relationships provide mutual support, insight and encouragement, which is beneficial to communities moving forward in the 21st century. Please pray for me as we continue to follow God’s call in our lives pursuing our common vocation.

Director of Novices and Postulants: Mary Reuter, OSB

Postulants and novices are in the process of learning how to live the Gospel according to the guide from St. Benedict of Nursia. At the same time, they are becoming incorporated into our Benedictine community. This process is gradual and needs the formation available through interacting with us sisters and by living the Benedictine way that includes prayer together and alone, study, work and leisure.

Accompanying these women is sacred. In a special way, I walk with the Holy Spirit to help them discern who God is calling them to become. They already have been living according to the Gospel; they now feel called to seek God with the support of Benedict’s vision, practices and structures (Rule of Benedict 58). This process is grounded in their baptismal vocation of reshaping their hearts to love God and bring God’s love into the world (Psalm 51).

I am blessed to accompany these women. Supporting people in their human development and living the Gospel is part of my vocation. I am able to draw from my experience of living Benedictine life with its supports and challenges. I am grateful for my studies that centered on spirituality and my teaching that focused often on Benedictine spirituality. I anticipate that this service will help me continue to “reshape my heart” and deepen my relationship with God.

Director of Women in First Profession: Mary Catherine Holicky, OSB

Being invited to the role of director of sisters in first monastic profession is an invitation to renew my commitment as a professed Benedictine woman, as well as my commitment to the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict with whom I share this life and serve in our name.

In the prologue of the Rule of Benedict (Prologue 45), it is stated, “We intend to establish a school for the Lord’s service.” I love the idea that we are lifelong learners. There is always something more to be discovered, both externally in practices, encounters, ideas, and internally as the Spirit bids us to see, to hear, to claim our belovedness. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love (RB Prologue 47). Love is the essence of the Christ, of the monastic, and of the curriculum of the school for the Lord’s service. In this school, the good of all concerned holds priority in safeguarding love.

I look forward to being in this school of the Lord’s service with women whose call is persistent, as I listen to joys and struggles, clarity and confusion, hopes and disappointments, as together we immerse ourselves in one way of life.

Director of Process of Women in Transfer: Laureen Virnig, OSB

My most recent background includes being postulant and novice director for 10 years followed by director of oblates for more than eight years. In mid-August 2022, Sister Susan Rudolph, prioress at that time, asked me to mentor a woman discerning to transfer her stability to our monastery. Since Sister Catherine Duenne, the person applying for transfer, had been in a Benedictine monastery for 21 years, the focus was on offering opportunities for her to become familiar with the history and practices of our community. She arrived in fall of 2022.

Our regular conversations were a time for her to talk about her experiences and for me to be a supportive listener during this time of transition. Once or twice a month, we would engage in conversations with small groups of sisters as a way for the sisters to get to know her and she to know us and to hear how the Rule of Benedict is lived in this community.

At the end of one year, S. Catherine may request to transfer her stability to our monastery. Upon acceptance of her request, she would then become a professed member of our community. This year has been a blessing and a graced time to walk with S. Catherine.

Confident & Unafraid!

Sister Karen Rose was installed as the 18th prioress of Saint Benedict's Monastery on June 4, 2023. This joyful day marks the beginning of six years of leadership under S. Karen and her leadership team: Sister Sharon Nohner, subprioress; Sister Jeanne Marie Lust, treasurer; and Sister Colleen Quinlivan, community secretary. Please hold our leaders and community in prayer as we move into the future, confident and unafraid!

“God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid. For the Lord is my strength and my might, and the Lord has been my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation.”

The prioress's cross is passed from S. Susan Rudolph (left) to S. Karen

S. Nicole Kunze (right) of Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, N.D., presider, blesses S. Karen

S. Lucy Miller (left) pledges obedience to S. Karen S. Margaret Wurm (left) pledges obedience to S. Karen

Bishop Patrick Neary (right) blesses S. Karen Processing into Sacred Heart Chapel

S. Karen (center) with Brian Bruess (left), president of CSB+SJU, and his wife, Carol Bruess

S. Karen (right) with Bishop Patrick Neary

Celebrating 60 Years: Ardella (Erik) Kvamme, OSB

“Still waters run deep” is an ancient Latin proverb which aptly describes Sister Ardella Kvamme. Her Scandinavian heritage is foundational to her quiet nature and wise ways. It also accounts for her strong loyalty in relationships and her altruistic nature.

Born in Pelican Rapids, Minn., to parents of Norwegian descent, S. Ardella’s family life revolved around the Lutheran Church and the land. She treasured working closely with her father on the farm, and they formed a close bond during quiet hours together outdoors. Closeness to family, a love of nature, and delight in creation came naturally.

Reading Scripture, prayer and music were a mainstay for the Kvamme family. S. Ardella sang and accompanied hymns for church services which nurtured her love for music. These experiences were a prelude to her initial years as a Benedictine sister serving as organist and director of parish choirs. Her first ministry teaching elementary school students included music classes.

As a student at Augsburg College in Minneapolis in the 1950s, S. Ardella was drawn to Catholicism and began to consider a call to religious life.

A visit to Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn., with Sister Omer Kiffmeyer’s sister introduced her to the Liturgy of the Hours, Gregorian chant and a scriptural/ liturgical way of living the Gospel—all at the heart

of the Rule of St. Benedict. In 1961, she entered the monastery, making perpetual monastic profession in 1967.

While music ministry marked her early years in community, eventually her business skills and human resources acumen were recognized and tapped. S. Ardella has spent 34 years assuming multiple responsibilities in the monastery’s business office. Her gifts for accuracy and knowledge of finances and the monastery’s corporate history are valued assets at community meetings.

Balancing work and leisure is important. S. Ardella enjoys reading, especially mysteries, listening to classical music, and watching football and basketball games at all levels. She continues to share her musical talents: her deeply resonant contralto voice enriches the monastery schola and is movingly experienced in her rendering of treasured hymns.

All of S. Ardella's gifts are seasoned with an infectious, dry sense of humor often expressed in soft laughter and sparkling eyes. Her calm, quiet nature combined with gentle steadfastness reflect the Way of the Gospel and the wisdom of St. Benedict which she has lived for 60 years.

“Still waters run deep in her.”

Michaela Hedican, OSB, and Katherine Kraft, OSB

Delighting in God's beautiful creation

Serving as treasurer on the 2011–2017 leadership team

Celebrating 60 Years: Ephrem (Rita) Hollermann, OSB

ister Ephrem’s community knows her as a woman passionate about and faithful to Benedictine common life: shared prayer, the common table, work and leisure. We experience her as a good listener, compassionate, warmly human, and observant. We marvel at her historian’s ability to recall events and dates long past and in detail.

S. Ephrem (Rita) Hollermann was born in Melrose, Minn., on July 13, 1942, the fourth of Henry and Eleanor (Wiener) Hollermann’s five children. She entered Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn., in September 1961 and made perpetual profession on July 11, 1967. From 1964–1976, she taught junior high English and religion in several diocesan schools. Thereafter, she served as the community’s director of novices and the initial formation program for seven years.

In 1991, S. Ephrem received a doctorate in historical theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. She then began teaching at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, expecting this to be her last full-time assignment. However, in 1995, the community elected her as their 14th prioress. During her two terms, she presented frequent conferences on the scriptural and monastic foundations of Benedictine life. In addition, she often served as presenter, retreat director, federation delegate, and visitator for other Benedictine women’s monasteries. Never eager for travel, she visited Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Italy, Germany, Taiwan and Japan in her role as prioress.

After 10 years as prioress and following a sabbatical year, S. Ephrem returned to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University as an associate professor of theology from 2006 until her retirement from the classroom in 2014.

SIn 1994, S. Ephrem’s doctoral dissertation, The Reshaping of a Tradition: American Benedictine Women, 1852–1881, was published by St. Mary’s Press, Winona, Minn. In it, she explored the 19thcentury founding experience of Benedictine women in the United States. In recognition of her many contributions to the understanding and vitality of monastic life and history, she received the Egregia Award from the American Benedictine Academy in 2016.

Continuing her passion for the Benedictine legacy, S. Ephrem accepted a commission from the Monastic Congregation of Saint Scholastica to write the history of the first Benedictine women’s monastery in the United States at St. Marys, Pa., from which our monastery was founded in 1857. Her book, Like a Mustard Seed: A History of the First Benedictine Women’s Monastery in North America, was published in 2022. In her own words, “…the full story of American Catholicism will not be known until the stories of women religious have been lifted out of the shadows of mainstream history into their rightful place as stalwart shapers of an American Catholic identity and ethos.”

Delores Dufner, OSB

Family tree of Saint Benedict’s Monastery created by S. Ephrem

Celebrating 60 Years: Rosa Li, OSB

Iwonder if our Taiwanese sister ever sleeps. One sees her early and late, at age 90, mind you!

Her writings tell me… From little on upward She worked hard Obviously motivated by family need By God, too And her many skills.

She observes, listens, responds; “but I’m slow,” she adds.

Her cross? Language, communication Yet she smiles Through it all!

S. Rosa is a searcher… for God for relationship for learning. She is an artist, a writer a missionary.

Don’t underestimate S. Rosa!

Above all, she listens to God Who holds on to her, As she does to their relationship.

It’s communion and communication Unlimited!

In a passage of her autobiography, S. Rosa refers to the foundational truth of her life: “God was with me step by step.” During World War II, she was witness to two bombings as well as that of the Monte Cassino Abbey in Italy and met the bomber who later became a monk at Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minn.

S. Rosa exclaims: “Things that are good and successful are directed by God, STEP BY STEP! I thank the Holy Spirit for leading me. I feel I am

very special and so fortunate for having met this amazing person in my Life’s experience. It was so incredible a thing for me! I cherish such a marvelous God who works in me!

How can I not cherish Him?

How can I ignore Him?

How can I not love Him?

How can I not seek to follow Him?

Almighty God, You are my Everything! I praise You; I give You thanks for Your great glory my whole lifelong! In all things may You be glorified!”

Renée Domeier, OSB

Top: S. Rosa (center) at her American citizenship ceremony with Sisters Gilmary Kempf, Anne Malerich, Margo Bishchof, and the presiding judge (left to right)

Bottom: S. Rosa teaching Sunday school

Celebrating 60 Years: Susan (Johanna) Rudolph, OSB

ears ago, Sister Susan (Johanna) heard God’s question in her heart: “Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?” (Psalm 33 [34]:13 and Rule of Benedict Prologue 15). Eventually her response directed her to Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn. Here she gave herself in a perpetual commitment to live the Gospel according to the vision of Saint Benedict. S. Susan made a threefold promise to live faithfully according to the Rule of Benedict with a commitment to obedience (prayerful listening and responding) and dedication to stability that centers her life in God, her Benedictine community, and the people she serves. This commitment has formed the foundation of her life, and practices such as prayer, hospitality, respect, perseverance, compassion and service mark her daily activities.

S. Susan may also have heard the words that God spoke to the prophet Isaiah: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” She probably responded with the words of the prophet: “Here I am; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Invitations to serve led her along many pathways. They wound their way through teaching elementary school children, to guiding women during the phases of becoming a member of our monastery, to working as director of housing at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph Minn. For 21 years, she held the position of director/ chaplain at St. Benedict’s Senior Community in St. Cloud, Minn., where her background in gerontology, pastoral ministry and chaplaincy

Yserved the residents well. Her journey took her to Taiwan, Japan, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and China, where she engaged in projects with women religious.

For the past six years, S. Susan served as prioress of our monastery, assisting us along with people and institutions of the St. Cloud area, particularly the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and the St. Cloud Hospital. She holds a persistent concern for the underprivileged who suffer from poverty and discriminatory practice. Though the people, culture and work along the way have varied, S. Susan’s commitment to serving the needs of people and inviting them to a fuller life has endured.

For relaxation, S. Susan enjoys physical activities that keep her in touch with nature: gardening, walking and biking. Reading, writing and cheering on the Minnesota Vikings are some of her strong interests.

Clearly, S. Susan has lived her Benedictine life to the fullest and has welcomed many people and situations with the heart of Christ. She has acknowledged that God’s love has been given to her generously, and her response has led her to many opportunities to share that love with gratitude.

Mary Reuter, OSB

S. Susan (right) with her brother

S. Susan (left) and Sister Brian Spain exploring Mount Rushmore

Benedictine Living:

Christian Morris, OSB

The Legacy Continues

In this past academic year, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University initiated a onecredit course called Benedictine Living and Learning Community. It combines classroom study of Benedictine values and the opportunity to live them in an intentional community on each campus. Weekly reflection papers help foster the integration of living and learning.

For the Feast of St. Benedict on March 21, 2023, the students’ assignment was to read from the Life and Miracles of St. Benedict and attend a prayer hour or Mass here or at Saint John’s Abbey. With students’ permission, we share a few of their reflections.* Their youthful enthusiasm inspires hope and reassurance that Benedict’s vision and way of life is alive and well!

Jessie Bazan, OblSB, was instructor of this course. Brother Aelred Senna and Sister Christian Morris offered classroom support and “monastic presence,” and Sisters Lisa Rose and Laura Suhr initiated informal gatherings on the CSB campus. Nineteen students took the course during the 2022–23 academic year. This year, there are 45 students enrolled!

*Some reflections have been edited for length and clarity.

» “St. Benedict was not only smart, but wise. He was patient with others and always made space for prayer. Benedict recognized God in himself, others and the world around him. His wisdom came from his deep love of God. When he retreated from the world to the monastery, he was following a call from God. I pray I have the knowledge to hear God’s call in my own life so I too can be deeply attuned to God’s voice and have a deep wisdom of the world and God.”

» “St. Benedict has become one of my favorite saints since becoming a Bennie a year and a half ago because he bonds the community together and ultimately exemplifies what it means to be a Bennie. My friends and I went to Evening Prayer with the sisters at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. The sisters were so excited to see us there and so happy we could join them. We sat in the back with a sister who told us, ‘Thank you for being here, this is such a special time.’ I responded by telling her thanks for having us because we are the ones being welcomed into their space!

The hospitality was radiating in the room. Each time I go to Evening Prayer, which is not often, I have hopes to go more; I feel a great sense of peace. Like the Rule of St. Benedict itself, there is so much intention behind the overall Evening Prayer and the structure of it. I enjoy praying on my own, but I also love a guided prayer done in community because it helps me to be focused.”

» “What stood out to me from the Feast of Benedict liturgy that I attended was the environment. I am a

very attentive-to-detail individual, and the energy in the room caught all of my attention. When there was silent prayer time, I felt God close to me. I know that, with all of my heart, he was present in that room. He wants us to focus on our own faith lives, and that was apparent in the way his love flowed throughout the space. A Christian-centered, nonjudgmental environment is very therapeutic, and I felt very calm and transcendental after this experience. Connecting this to Benedict, in the same way, we are supposed to journey in our own faith life while simultaneously being a light and support to those around us, and Benedict lived this by example.”

» “St. Benedict is a saint I admire for many reasons. Throughout the semester, I have learned more about him and the life he lived in accordance with God’s will for him. Something I find interesting that I did not know before today is that he is the patron saint of students and Europe. I am drawn to this fact because I am very passionate about education. I am most passionate about Catholic education because it has greatly shaped me into who I am today. I am discerning a role in Catholic education for a career someday. While I am unsure of what it may look like, I will pray to St. Benedict to guide me in the discernment process.”

» “It was such a fun experience getting to sit and pray with the sisters. It was such a God-filled space, and it felt so welcoming and warm. I really enjoy having the opportunity to go pray with the sisters whenever I want to because it is a time to surround myself with godly people in a beautiful prayer space where I can grow in my relationship with God and thank Him for all He has done for me. The Benedictines share such a beautiful community, and I feel so blessed to have been welcomed into it here.”

» “Order is something that I witnessed at Evening Prayer at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. I must admit, I had second thoughts about attending this prayer service for I did not have anyone to accompany me, and I was unsure if I was intruding into the sisters’ community.

When I first walked into the lower-level prayer room, with rows of pews facing toward the center of the room, I was extremely intimidated. Those feelings faded away when a kind-looking sister waved at me and directed me toward the booklets that would be used throughout the service. Once I grabbed one and sat next to her, I felt instant relief. I could feel myself falling into the order within their community and was thankful for her initial guidance at the beginning of the service.

St. Benedict’s Rule displays this order and offers a structure of living that can benefit one’s spirituality. We often discuss the Rule of St. Benedict in our Benedictine Living Learning Community, but it was incredibly special to see it in real life with real people. Although I was only in their small community momentarily, I felt the warm embrace of the Holy Spirit through their hospitality and kindness. By the time I left, I only felt peace.”

The St. Benedict statue in Sacred Heart Chapel

Donation Report

Your generosity by the numbers

Gift-In-Kind: $31,866

Restricted: $199,683

Total Amount in Donations: $1,765,958

4,945

Total Gifts

Unrestricted: $1,534,409

2,738

Total Donors

Highlights From the Year

319

Total First-Time Donors

» In November 2022, $87,387 was raised through Give to the Max to support spiritual ministries.

» Donations for repairing the dome of Sacred Heart Chapel have continued to roll in, including $16,085 during this past fiscal year. Between our 2021 Give to the Max campaign and additional generosity from our donors, the cumulative total raised for dome repairs currently sits around $226,000. Progress is being made.

» $10,025 was given toward music ministry and our liturgical celebrations.

» Renovations in the cemetery have continued.

In Memoriam

Class of 1948

Boniface (Virginia) Salm, OSB

Colman (Dolores) O’Connell, OSB

Dorothea (Arleda) Lenz, OSB

Grace (Mary Mark) Donovan, OSB

Janice (Lillian) Wedl, OSB

Johnita (Ann Mary) Meyer, OSB

Linda (Valeria) Kulzer, OSB

Lucille (Julia) Lawrence, OSB

Martina (Agatha) Schindler, OSB

Maureen (Theresa) Mulcahy, OSB

Merle (Florentine) Maerz, OSB

Ramona (Phyllis) Bjork, OSB

Virgene (Cecelia) Marx, OSB

Class of 1963

Pauline (Lucille) Fernandes, OSB

In loving memory of our dearly departed sisters who would have celebrated significant anniversaries in monastic life with this year’s jubilee classes.

Music at the Monastery

Amanda Hackett

has been a busy year for two of our monastery musicians: Sister Christine Manderfeld released Sing of God’s Goodness: Calls to Worship and Responsories in April, and Sister Delores Dufner released Never Silent in Your Praise in July. Both collections were published by GIA Publications. Although these two musicians focus on writing different parts of a hymn—S. Delores writes text while S. Christine writes mostly music—their talents woven together with the promptings of the Holy Spirit produce beautiful fruit. In fact, S. Christine’s collection came to fruition when S. Delores, a hymn writer published by GIA, asked whether or not GIA would be interested in publishing sung calls to worship and responsories. After reading a sample of S. Christine’s work, not only were they interested, but they asked if there were more!

Both collections are available to purchase online at GIA Publications or in Whitby Gift Shop at the monastery’s Art and Heritage Place.

Sing of God’s Goodness: Calls to Worship and Responsories

S. Christine’s collection of sung prayers contains 12 calls to worship and six responsories spanning the liturgical seasons of Lent, Easter, Advent, Christmas and Ordinary Time. Most of these pieces are sung by the Benedictine sisters at Morning Prayer on Sundays, but S. Christine also wrote three new calls to worship and three new responsories especially for this book. In addition to writing all of the music, she also wrote most of the texts.

S. Christine taught music at the elementary and secondary levels for 20 years and then taught music

methods at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University for 33 years. For the past 50 years, she has been the monastery’s “composer-inresidence.” If the community needs a sung prayer, they will ask her to write it. Thankfully, writing music is a work of the heart that she loves and does well.

When readers pray with her collection, S. Christine hopes that the melodies are beautiful and not too difficult to sing, that they are a source of joy, that singing these hymns “is always prayer,” and that readers experience God’s goodness. Dreaming up the book’s title provided her own source of joy: While pondering title possibilities, her niece, a liturgist, mentioned that “goodness” is a word not often used in liturgical works. Of course, S. Christine, always inventive, knew she had to incorporate this word into the title!

Out of all the calls and responsories, S. Christine’s favorite text is her responsory refrain inspired by Pope John Paul I, who said, “God always keeps

watch on us, even when it seems to be night. He is a Father, but even more, a Mother.” Her responsory says, “Enlighten us, loving Father of almighty truth. Be our guide, loving Mother of deep wisdom.” The responsory refers to God as both mother and father, and she truly appreciates the mother image, which is seldom used to describe God.

Sing of God’s Goodness can be used in many different prayer settings and to make Sunday celebrations livelier and more festive. It will appeal to both Catholic and other Christian faith traditions so a wider audience can enjoy the fruits of her labor. If you enjoy this collection, there is a second volume currently in production that contains antiphons, psalms and canticles. Sing of God’s goodness!

Never Silent in Your Praise

S. Delores is no stranger to publishing. In her fifth collection, there are 34 hymns, 11 of which are newly composed especially for her texts and the rest of which are familiar or in the public domain. She presented this collection for the first time in Montreal, Canada, at The Hymn Society’s annual conference on July 17, 2023. She presented it for a second time at the monastery’s Spirituality Center on August 2, 2023, along with S. Christine’s collection.

Although several of the hymns in her new collection were commissioned works, most of S. Delores’ music comes from her own listening to and reading of Scripture. She believes that the words of the hymn not only have to be true, but they must also be written in a beautiful way. Some words don’t sing well, and poetic devices, such as alliteration, help make words more beautiful and enjoyable

to sing. She quotes her friend, Nathan Mitchell: “Words have to taste good in the mouth.”

In aiming to make her hymns beautiful, S. Delores tries to write in such a way that any Christian church, including those beyond the Catholic faith tradition, is able to sing her hymns. Her goal in writing is to make sung prayer more attractive to people and to help them feel that God is “near, immanent and with us, not only far beyond and above us.”

“Never Silent in Your Praise,” the titular hymn, is S. Delores’ favorite in the collection. Not only does the name describe the reason that she writes, but it also paints a picture of cherished memories. She was commissioned to write this piece by Father Anthony Ruff of Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minn., for the dedication of the abbey’s expanded organ. Attending the dedication and hearing the hymn’s debut was a joy; even more special is the fact that the composer who wrote the music is one of her friends from The Hymn Society.

S. Delores credits the good critics who have read her hymns and given feedback: Sister Katherine Kraft, a former theology professor; Sister Christine Manderfeld, a composer; Sister Kathryn Casper, a spiritual director who died in June 2023; and her sister Angeline Dufner, who was an English professor at the College of Saint Benedict for many years. Each of them provided different insights and helped S. Delores hone her craft—a craft she has joyfully been practicing since the early 1980s.

“A good vocation is simply a firm and constant will in which the person who is called must serve God in the way and in the places to which almighty God has called [them].”

St. Francis de Sales

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New prioress, new leadership team, new website!

With so many transitions happening within and around the monastery, we decided it was also time to refresh our website. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Cohlab Digital Marketing who was our partner in this project. Although the design and layout of our website is different, our website address is not. You will continue to find us at www.sbm.osb.org

Our new website was launched in early July. We hope you will spend some time perusing the site and dive deeper into our history, learn about our sisters and ministries, and discover ways you can share in our mission.

“Behold, I make all things new!”

(Revelation 21:5)