Benedictine Wisdom at TEDxStCloud
In October 2025, Sister Michaela Hedican and Mary Bruno, local artist and owner of Bruno Press, a letterpress print shop in St. Joseph, Minn., took the stage at TEDxStCloud for a dynamic conversation about the Rule of Benedict and what happens when ancient wisdom meets contemporary art.
In 2020, Mary was commissioned to create The Scroll of the Rule of St. Benedict, a 36-foot letterpress-printed scroll featuring passages from the Rule of Benedict and vibrant hand-cut illustrations of Benedictine sisters and Central Minnesota’s flora and fauna. Faced with the largest project of her career, Mary knew she had to dive deeper into the Rule and truly understand the subject about which she was creating. This led her to connect with S. Michaela and Sister Katherine Howard, two sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery with invaluable knowledge of the text, combined decades of living the Benedictine monastic way of life and endless wisdom.
The first half of S. Michaela and Mary’s discussion on the TEDxStCloud stage revolved around their collaboration experience. As the three women collaborated, Mary noticed that she resonated with many of the values highlighted throughout the Rule, including community, hospitality and hard work. She realized that free-spirited artists known for their sassy greeting cards and Benedictine sisters aren’t as different as it might appear on the outside.
Sisters Michaela and Katherine were thrilled to share more about the Rule and offer guidance to Mary throughout this project, including which passages of the Rule were critical to include and which illustrations might be the most impactful. In their TEDx conversation, S. Michaela expressed that she was so grateful to Mary for using her talents to “make the Rule available in the local area and beyond.” The collaboration meshed Benedictine history, the arts and a spirit of lifelong learning — all things that are important to a Benedictine!
The latter half of their TEDx discussion focused on how the Rule, written 1,500 years ago, guides us in modern times. S. Michaela reflected on Benedict, who was wise beyond his times and led through servant leadership. She clarified that the Rule is not a list of “dos and don’ts,” but rather, it is a guide that invites us to live out our shared human values in community with one another.
As a non-monastic, Mary added that the Rule isn’t confined to the walls of a monastery — the values and instructions within it speak not only to being monastic, but simply to being human. In modern times, the Rule guides us to stay rooted in something bigger than ourselves, build community with one another, and offers calm and clarity in a noisy world. She reflected, “Even though it’s [the Rule] ancient, it’s really not outdated.”
After taking in this enriching discussion, TEDx attendees had the opportunity to view the Scroll and its magnificence in person at a gallery exhibit in the event venue. Guests were amazed by each handcrafted detail and touched by the story that the Scroll shares.
We are immensely grateful to Mary for bringing the Rule to life in a breathtaking way and sharing it with our wider community. We’re also grateful to Brian Hart and the TEDxStCloud planning team for inviting us to participate in this fruitful discussion and impactful event.
Amanda Hackett
This article was featured on page 6-7 in the spring 2026 issue of Benedictine Sisters and Friends.
View the entire discussion here.
You can learn more about the Scroll and how to host an exhibition at www.mcbrunopress.com/the-scroll-tour.
