Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict select new prioress

The Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict have selected a new prioress.

Sister Susan Rudolph, OSB, was elected the 17th prioress of the community on Saturday, Feb. 25. Rudolph, who succeeds Sister Michaela Hedican, OSB, as prioress, will be installed on June 4.

Rudolph is a 1965 graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in elementary education. She also served as housing director and staff resident at CSB for 14 years.

In 2016, she retired after 21 years as director of pastoral care at St. Benedict’s Senior Community in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, native has served the monastery as its formation director. Most recently, she assisted at the monastery’s Spirituality Center and became responsible for workplace safety.

The canonical election process, which began on Friday, Feb. 24, was the culmination of over a yearlong discernment process launched in November 2015. The community of 213 women reached a consensus late in the afternoon of Feb. 25, according to The St. Cloud Visitor newspaper.

Hedican was elected the 16th prioress of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict on Feb. 27, 2011. She was installed on June 5, 2011.