The Sisters - St. Paul's Monastery

The Sisters of St. Paul's Monastery have a proud Benedictine heritage thatdates back to 1852 when three sisters left their abbey in Eichstatt, Bavaria toestablish the first Benedictine women's monastery in America. They came toeducate the German immigrants in the schools. The enrollment in theschools, as well as membership in their community, grew rapidly due to thegreat need for schools and the desire of the sisters to spread the Benedictinevalues.3

Five years later in 1857, several sisters from that monastery in Pennsylvaniajourneyed Minnesota and established the first Benedictine women'scommunity in the upper Midwest in St. Joseph. Again, they came to be ofservice to the parents and children in the schools. This convent, too,flourished and it developed into the largest Benedictine women's convent inthe world. Over the years, ten women's monasteries were founded from theConvent of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.4

St. Paul's Monastery is one of these foundations. In 1948 180 sisters left St.Benedict's Convent and came to St. Paul to establish a new monastery at301 Summit Avenue. The same courage, strong convictions and deep faith ofthe pioneering sisters who came earlier to America and to Minnesotaattracted many women to join our community in St. Paul.5

We soon outgrew this space and decided to build a larger monastery on theoutskirts of St. Paul in Maplewood. When we shared our plans with theArchbishop, he asked that we first build a high school for girls. We raisedfunds and built and staffed Archbishop Murray Memorial High School (nowHill-Murray) which began in 1958.6

We spread our Benedictine values through Hill-Murray School and atnumerous schools and institutions throughout the metro area and greaterMinnesota.7

The pioneering spirit of our founders and our desire to live the Rule of St.Benedict prompted us to build a monastery on the land we had purchasedadjacent to Hill-Murray School. When we moved into the new monastery at2675 Larpenteur Ave., the community numbered 244 sisters. This place wasthe center for prayer, for the formation of the women who desired to live theBenedictine way of life and the place from which the sisters enriched theirspirit for ministry whether that was at the monastery, in schools, or at anyplace we would witness our monastic values to the wider world and thechurch.8

When we moved to Maplewood, we purchased land in addition to the 74acres on which we built the high school and the monastery. Being goodstewards, we later sold 39 acres of the land south of Larpenteur Ave. to theCity of Maplewood through the Trust for Public Land to be preserved aspublic open space.9

We also sold 29 acres east of Century Avenue to the City of Oakdale—againto be preserved as open space.10

As with many other religious communities, our membership declined. Todaythere are 56 sisters in the community, 35 of whom reside in the monasterybuilding. We are blessed with many Oblates who spread our Benedictinevalues wherever they live and work and also with volunteers who share theirgifts and help us promote our mission.11

Throughout our years of planning and study, our mission statement keeps usfocused: We, the sisters of St. Paul's Monastery, are a community who livethe Rule of St. Benedict based on Gospel values. Through our Liturgical lifeand wise stewardship, we create sacred space from which we respond to theneeds and challenges of church and society.13

As we discern how to live our mission and witness our Benedictine vision tothe wider community, there are five core gospel values that we hold sacredand that guide our conversation and decisions:14

Community: We are sisters of all ages, committed to one another as we liveout the monastic way of life according to the Rule of St. Benedict.15

Prayer: We are committed to being faithful to the rhythm of monastic prayer,both communal and personal.16

Hospitality: We are committed to an attitude that opens us to welcome allpeople, especially those in need, thereby carrying out the challenge of St.Benedict: "All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.”17

Stewardship: We are committed to the proper p care and use of human gifts,things and the natural environment.19

Silence: Silence is the gift of a quiet, internal spirit, nourished by themonastic environment of prayer, hospitality and community, in service to thegospel.20

Our ministries flow from our prayer life and our life together in community.The ministries on this campus that we support are:21

MOMS — Ministry of Mothers Sharing — the national office of MOMS is inour monastery building. This is a strong ministry in 3,000 parishes nationwidewith its goal to strengthen the spirituality of mothers and their families.22

In 1991, we started the Maple Tree Childcare Center in our renovatedlaundry building. It is licensed for 70 children, serving parents and caring forchildren, infants through pre-school.23

Maple Tree was the recipient of an award in 2007 for being the bestChildcare Center in this local area.24

The Benedictine Center started 25 years ago and is unique in that it has itsresources within our monastery building. This ministry is a mutual blessingfor the sisters and for all who come to our place.25

We invite guests to share our table and our prayer life and we offer quietspace for spiritual renewal, for guided retreats and spiritual direction, as wellas providing space for conferences and meetings.26

The Benedictine Center sponsors a lay ministry project through a Lilly grantthat provides on-going formation for lay people who serve the church in avariety of ministries.27

To date 145 ministers from 7 states have benefited from the iLLUMINAREproject.28

Sister Joan's Nutribits provides income to the monastery through the sale of100% natural dog treats.29

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.A ministry dear to our hearts is the care of our elderly sisters, most of whomare the charter members, the founders of our community. They are thepioneers who built the foundation upon which all of us who followed themthese 60 years reap the benefits of their hard work and sacrifice, their prayerand service. We are grateful to them and to all the sisters, both living anddeceased, who in 1948 created this St. Paul's Monastery.30

We also minister in parishes and institutions throughout the metro area: ineducation, pastoral ministry, care of the sick and elderly and wherever wecan be of service—in New Hope and Brooklyn Park, in Minnetonka andBloomington, in St. Paul and South St. Paul, in Montgomery and Montana.31

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.The Benedictine value of being ggood stewards in the use of our resourcesprompted us to be pro-active in addressing the realities of our economicsituation. For the past 3 years in planning, we studied the options for thedevelopment of our land and our present monastery building. Thedeliberations of many meetings about how we will move into the future withhope helped us make these important decisions:We will build a new monastery on the northern portion of the presentcampus.We have sold our present monastery to Tubman Family Alliance.We will sell some land to CommonBond Communities.We have sold our portion of ownership of Hill-Murray School to the Hill-Murray Foundation so they can move forward with their future planning.32

We turned to scripture to give us the words for wisdom in our deliberationsand decisions. We chose Wisdom 6:12-17 which has been the constantprayer for all our meetings, dialog sessions and at Community MorningPrayer:I, Wisdom, am with you.I am a light that will never grow dim.Love me and you will see me.Look for me and you will find me.At the slightest indication of your desire for me, I will make myself known toyou.Watch for me at the very start of what you are about and you will have notrouble.You will find me, ever present, sitting at your table.Even thinking about my presence will help you.Be aware of my presence, my concern, my willingness to inspire & to instructyou.As you meet with each other, I will meet with each and all of you.33

When we made the decision to build a smaller monastery, we deliberatedwhat we could do with the present monastery that would be in keeping withour mission. We did not want to raze our monastery building whichdevelopers would require if they purchased the land. The building is notconducive to the remodeling needed by potential buyers. We entered into aperiod of prayerful discernment, committing numerous days to conversationsabout where God was leading us. Because we always make decisions as acommunity, the discernment process took a long time.34

In the end, we agreed to sell the monastery building to Tubman FamilyAlliance, an organization that serves families and children and to provideland for CommonBond Communities to build affordable housing for seniorsand families.35

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.These new partnerships p with Tubman Family Alliance and CommonBondCommunities reflect our Benedictine commitment to hospitality for all andcompassion to those in need. The monastery has stood as a bright light forthose in search of spiritual and personal nourishment. With these newpartners, that light will not grow dim. Our mission to serve those most in needwill remain bright long into the future. We are blessed to be able to open ourmonastery to women and children who have not experienced peaceful lives,to give them hope for a better future for their families, to build affordablehomes for families and seniors and to share the spirit of St. Benedict by ourexample.36

In planning for the future, we also agreed that the Benedictine Center wouldcontinue to be a place where the wisdom of St. Benedict would enrich futuregenerations. Through its retreats, workshops, ministry renewal and otheropportunities to grow in the spiritual life, the Center will extend our valueslong into the future. In doing so, we along with the Benedictine Center staffwill seek to make access to the Center's spiritual resources alwaysaffordable.37

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.Tubman Family Alliance and CommonBond Communities already haveestablished relationships with the students and staff of Hill-Murray School.These partners, along with the Benedictine Center, Maple Tree ChildcareCenter and Ministry of Mothers Sharing, will make this intersection of Centuryand Larpenteur Avenues a unique community for women, children, families,seniors and those seeking spiritual resources. On this campus, St. Paul'sMonastery will be the authentic expression of a community of monasticwomen sustained by prayer and centered in the call to serve others for thesake of the gospel.38

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.Our new monastery will have adequate spaces for the personal andcommunity needs of monastic living, will have a Healthcare Center to care forthe physical and spiritual health of our aging sisters and will be a vibrantplace for the mission of the Benedictine Center and guests.39

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.Above all, we will have a sacred space for a chapel. This is the first time inour 60 year history that we will build a formal chapel. In our other twomonasteries; because of lack of funds, we carved out a special place for achapel from space that was already in the building. This new chapel willanchor everything else because today prayer is our primary ministry. We lookforward to moving into our new home and welcoming everyone who comesto our door, remembering St. Benedict's admonition that guests are neverlacking in a monastery and that all who come are "to be welcomed as Christ."40