Our history is alive and radiant, full of passion and energy, always evolving. During this year of commemoration, we recount events and recall people who have shaped our ministry for the worldwide church. Graced with the same foresight and risk our foremothers embraced in 1857, and attuned to the movement of the Holy Spirit, we are stirred anew by their faith and courage to propel the mission and ministry of Saint Benedict’s Monastery into the future.
Hearts are filled with gratitude to God for the manifold blessings in our monastic life, multiplied through a long, fruitful association with our Benedictine brothers at Saint John’s Abbey. God only knows what threads will be added to our tapestry in the future, but we know that those who have gone before us have taught us how to weave.
For 150 years, we Sisters have lived, prayed and worked together. Our prayer and work have inspired countless lives in Central Minnesota, throughout the state and throughout the world. Dedication to prayer and living the monastic life is at the heart of our Benedictine tradition. Our strength, given by God, continues to fuel our inner fire and to confirm our hope for the future.
It is our responsibility and privilege to empower women and men to recognize their own voices, and to acknowledge and use their own talents to improve the quality of life for others. In the simplicity of our common life, we share the secret that frugality and beauty can go hand in hand. With Benedict's guiding words to see Christ in everyone, to recognize God’s unconditional love in a Presence that is universal and peaceful, we strive daily to give witness to the Benedictine motto: “That God may be glorified in all things” (1 Peter 4:11, quoted by Benedict in Ch. 57 of the Rule).