Future
Before Vatican II the Sisters’ main ministries were easily identifiable. In the years since, by partnering with skilled, committed laity, the Sisters have been able to move into expanded ministries. In 2000, the Sisters adopted a long-range Strategic Plan projecting their future and ministries until 2015. Four significant priorities to which they have committed themselves are 1) enriching the spiritual lives of women within the Monastery and of others in the wider community, 2) increasing new membership to share their mission and vision, 3) partnering with others in service to the church and world and 4) stewarding their resources in ways that ensure the long-term viability of the Monastery and its diverse ministries (Strategic Plan 2000-2015).
Ministering at the monastery
The Sisters’ main Motherhouse campus is at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn. This is where the majority of Sisters live as most work in close proximity to St. Joseph. It is also where many ministries of the Sisters are located, including offices for the Spirituality Center and Art and Heritage Place in addition to monastery administration, business and secretarial, development/communications, liturgy, Oblates and volunteers.
The Motherhouse campus in St. Joseph has provided stability for thousands of Sisters in a life of prayer and work centered in community living. It is the “home” from which many ministries have evolved to serve the needs of the church and its people.
Ministering beyond the monastery
The Sisters of Saint Benedict have always ministered to the people in the area. They answered a call to come to America and teach the children of the European settlers. As women of the church, the Sisters shared this common goal and wished to provide religious and secular education for subsequent generations of Minnesota children. The primary need for education soon evolved into many other, and sometimes unforeseen, ministries.
American Indian Reservations
Sisters have served on the American Indian reservations in Red Lake, White Earth and Mille Lacs since the late 1880s. Their work has been primarily in education and parish ministry. Today, the Sisters continue their work on the Red Lake and White Earth reservations as faith formation coordinator, cook for recidivist alcoholics and development and school teacher.
Education
A commitment to education led the Sisters to open and staff schools in Central Minnesota and abroad. Since 1857, 1,653 Sisters have taught in 163 elementary and secondary schools located primarily in the Diocese of St. Cloud. Recognizing the need for higher education, they founded the College of Saint Benedict in 1913. The Sisters also founded the Benedictine Institute of Sacred Theology, now known as Saint John’s School of Theology .
Today, the Sisters continue their work in education as they teach in primary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul and Central Minnesota. In addition, many Sisters teach at the College of Saint Benedict , Benilde-St. Margaret in St. Louis Park, Minn., and St. Anselm’s College in Manchester, N.H.
Diocesean and Parish
The Sisters of Saint Benedict have served in diocesean offices in numerous ways—for example, liturgy, education, health care, religious education directors, assistant chancellor, diocesan media, marriage tribunal, hermetical life—to advance the work of the church throughout their history.
They continue their work in diocesean offices today in St. Cloud, Minn, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn, San Diego, Cal, and Portland, Ore.
The Sisters also serve in parishes throughout Minnesota as pastoral administrators, faith formation directors, religious education coordinators and sacristans. In all facets of parish life, Sisters serve to form community and build the Kingdom of God.
Health care, Counseling, Social Services
Health care
The Sisters have always responded to the needs of the times. When they arrived in Central Minnesota in 1857, there was a critical need for health care services. When Dr. A.C. Lamothe Ramsay began a hospital, he requested assistance from the Benedictine Sisters. The Sisters’ care for the sick and elderly is reflected in the establishment or staffing of the St. Cloud Hospital , St. Cloud, Minn., in 1886.
Their dedication to serving the sick is evident in the establishment of other health care institutions throughout their history.
The Sisters continue their presence today in the Central and Metro Minnesota areas in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care institutions by providing nursing care, patient care, chaplain and spiritual services, anesthesiology, patient advocacy and administration.
Counseling
Several Sisters also serve those who need emotional support and direction. They do this as psychologists, grief counselors and Jungian analysts.
Social Services
Sisters are “voices for the voiceless” and strive to meet the marginalized in our world with the dignity they deserve. This history in social services began in St. Joseph in 1881 as they operated an orphanage. Their work multiplied to meet specialized needs of individuals and eventually spread as far as China, Taiwan, Japan and Brazil.
While the Sisters do not operate institutions as they once did, today they are involved with Hispanic, American Indian, Hmong and Korean communities. They visit the imprisoned and share liturgies with them. The Sisters are also active with Partners Across Borders and Medical Missionaries International. They also foster the education of African Benedictine women and Chinese women religious and seminarians through international partnerships promoting education and leadership in their native countries.
Additional Ministries
The Sisters have always engaged in a rich variety of work, from diversified farming to the domestic and fine arts. In the early years, they baked, cooked, cleaned, laundered, sewed, bound books, wove cloth, designed vestments and made candles. They tended turkeys, chickens, bees, orchards, vineyards and gardens. Today, they continue many of these traditional ministries and services in addition to creating works of art and music, conducting research and writing books. They are administrators, organists, liturgists, catechists, archivists, librarians, poets, mentors, tutors and advocates for the poor.