Our History

Our community consists of just over 120 sisters, most of whom live at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn., or Saint Scholastica Convent, the retirement and care center for our sisters in St. Cloud, Minn. For the major portion of our more than 165-year history, we have served in the fields of education and health care. Within the past 50 years or so, our service has expanded into a variety of other works, including pastoral ministry, spiritual ministries, social justice work, research and writing, the arts, and liturgical renewal.

Throughout our history, we have sought to cultivate the full development of human persons by integrating spirituality, intellectual development, and the arts. This integration of beauty, the love of learning, and the desire for God are evident from our earliest days in Minnesota, despite harsh pioneer conditions and a number of setbacks in answering the call to serve the Catholic immigrant families of Central Minnesota.

Our Locations

Most of our sisters live at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn., or Saint Scholastica Convent, the retirement and care center for our sisters in St. Cloud, Minn.

Saint Benedict’s Monastery
104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, MN 56374

Saint Scholastica Convent
1845 20th Avenue SE
St. Cloud, MN 56304

Our Leadership

Karen Rose, OSB
Prioress

Marlene Schwinghammer, OSB
Subprioress

Jeanne Marie Lust, OSB
Treasurer

Colleen Quinlivan, OSB
Community Secretary

Our History

1035
Saint Benedict’s Monastery traces its roots to Saint Walburg Abbey in Eichstätt, Bavaria, founded in 1035.
1852
Two sisters, led by our European foundress, Mother Benedicta Riepp, emigrated to the United States in 1852 and founded the first monastery of Benedictine women in St. Marys, Pa. Their mission was to teach the children of German Catholic immigrants and to spread the Benedictine order in the United States.
1857
In 1857, a group of four sisters, two candidates, and an orphan girl from St. Joseph Convent, St. Marys, under the leadership of Mother Willibalda Scherbauer and sent by Mother Benedicta Riepp, established a convent in St. Cloud, Minn.
1863
In 1863, the new community moved to St. Joseph, Minn., its present location.
1947
In time, 10 daughter monasteries were founded by Saint Benedict’s Monastery in the United States and abroad. These monasteries form the Monastic Congregation of Saint Benedict, which was founded by our community in 1947.
- St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth, Minn. (1892)
- Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, N.D. (1947)
- Saint Bede Monastery, Eau Claire, Wis. (1948) (merged with Saint Benedict’s Monastery in 2010)
- Saint Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul, Minn. (1948)
- Saint Placid Priory, Lacey, Wash. (1952)
- Saint Benedict’s Monastery, Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan (1985)
- Saint Benedict Monastery, Tanshui, Taipei, Taiwan (1988)
- Saint Martin Monastery, Nassau, Bahamas (1994)
- Mount Benedict Monastery, Ogden, Utah (1994) (merged with Saint Benedict’s Monastery in 2012)
- Monasterio Santa Escolastica, Humacao, Puerto Rico (2000)

Learn More About Our History

Education

A commitment to education led the sisters to open and staff both elementary and high schools in Central Minnesota and abroad. Recognizing the need for higher education, they founded Saint Benedict’s Academy in 1878, which evolved into the College of Saint Benedict in 1913. In 1961, the sisters transferred ownership to the college, constituting it a separately-incorporated institution.

Health Care

In response to the Gospel and the Rule of Benedict, the sisters’ devotion to caring for the sick and elderly began at the same time as their work in education. They established homes for the elderly and six hospitals, including the St. Cloud Hospital. In 1962, the St. Cloud Hospital was separately incorporated. In 1964, the sisters transferred all of the hospital’s assets to the new corporation.

Other Historical and Contemporary Ministries

In addition to education and health care, the sisters have engaged in a rich variety of works in their history from diversified farming to the domestic and fine arts. They have baked, cooked, cleaned, laundered, sewed, bound books, woven cloth, designed vestments and made candles. They have tended turkeys, chickens, bees, orchards, vineyards and gardens. They have created works of art and music, engaged in research, and written books. Many of these works continue to the present day, along with the service of members who are spiritual directors, administrators, organists, liturgists, pastoral ministers, archivists, librarians, poets, mentors, tutors and advocates for the poor and disenfranchised.

Land Acknowledgement

Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn., stands on land which was the ancestral homeland of the Dakhóta and Anishinaabe peoples. The sisters acknowledge with reverence and respect the Indigenous Peoples who dwelt here.

Mother Benedicta Riepp

Although she was not our first prioress, Mother Benedicta Riepp is considered the foundress of our community. She was the first superior of St. Joseph Convent in St. Marys, Pa. In the spring of 1858, she relocated from Pennsylvania to St. Cloud, Minn., where she died in 1862. She is buried in our monastery cemetery.

Learn More About Mother Benedicta Riepp