As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve, we are evaluating the situation on a day-by-day basis to help do our part in keeping Central Minnesota healthy. The Art and Heritage Place is closed to visitors until further notice. However, Whitby Gift Shop is offering curbside services! You can purchase your items Tuesday through Saturday from 12–4 p.m. If there is something you would like to purchase, call the gift shop at (320) 363-7113 for information or to make an appointment for pick-up. When you arrive, call the shop to inform the staff that you are outside and ready. You can pay with cash, a check or a credit card. Please scroll down to view some of the beautiful items available for purchase, and thank you for supporting our sister artisans during this time!
Art and Heritage Place: Whitby Gift Shop & Haehn Museum
Art and Heritage Place was built in 2000 as a place to commemorate the tradition and history of the arts and is open to the public. It covers 9,600 square feet of space and houses the Haehn Museum and Whitby Gift Shop.
Regular Hours
Tuesday–Friday: 12–4 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday and Monday
Visits outside regular hours are arranged, as requested. For more information, call (320) 363-7113 or (320) 363-7100.
Whitby Gift Shop
Whitby Gift Shop and Gallery boasts a large variety of items for sale, many handmade by the sisters. You will find items for infants, cards for all occasions, jewelry, pottery, religious items, scarves and artwork. The gallery is home to an eclectic collection of art either created by the sisters or selected from the sisters’ heritage collection. Some are available to purchase.
For more information, contact:
JoAnne Backes, OSB
(320) 363-7113
jbackes001@csbsju.edu
Gen Maiers, OSB
(320) 363-7113
gmaiers@csbsju.edu
Now Offering Curbside Pick-Up!
Whitby Gift Shop is offering curbside pick-up! You can purchase your items Tuesday through Saturday, 12–4 p.m. If there is something you would like to purchase, call the gift shop at (320) 363-7113 for information or to make an appointment for pick-up. When you arrive, call the shop to inform the staff that you are outside and ready. You can pay with cash, a check or a credit card. Thank you for supporting our sister artisans during this time!
Haehn Museum
The Haehn Museum is home to nearly 7,000 artifacts, dating back to 1857, which document the lives and ministries of the Sisters of Saint Benedict. Exhibits capture and portray the strong cultural, social and religious influence the Benedictine sisters have had in their ministries locally, statewide, nationally and internationally, both past and present. The museum was named after Sylvester and Jacquie Haehn, who were major donors for its construction.
Since the opening of the Art and Heritage Place, visitors have come from all 50 United States and approximately 60 countries. Most of the visitors are from Minnesota and find they learn something new about the sisters and the monastery with each visit. School groups, college classes, adult groups, organizations and individuals are welcome. Visits outside regular hours are arranged, as requested. Come, join us!
Upcoming Exhibit
140 Years of Uncovering and Sharing Secrets of Science: 1880 to 2020
From cells to outer space, the sisters taught the sciences, opening doors for women through endless wondering, careful discovering, conserving the knowledge and teaching the challenge. As we wonder and discover and learn together, we change and grow.
The opening of our upcoming exhibit will depend on the coronavirus crisis. Stay tuned for details!
For more information, contact:
Moira Wild, OSB
Director of the Haehn Museum
(320) 363-7098
mwild@csbsju.edu
Enjoy some highlights and testimonials from our previous exhibit, “It’s All God’s Work.” This exhibit featured the art needlework department of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, which was active for 101 years. It was so popular that we extended its original year-long display for a second year!
Testimonials
Here are some of the things visitors have said about “It’s All God’s Work”:
“Very relaxing to see such beautiful artwork.”
“Truly a gift from God.”
“Stunning, a gift of the Spirit.”
“I felt the presence of God.”
“Very good to spend time here.”
“St. George!!! Way to go, George!”
“Delightful, breathtaking.”
“Very impressive.”
“Visual and informative.”
From the Monastery Museum
In October 2019, a visitor from Norway toured the art-needlework exhibit at the monastery museum. Delighted with the exhibit, he proceeded to the Whitby Gift Shop and finding genuine silk thread from the needlework sewing basket, he purchased several packets of the floss for his own creative purposes.
In June of 2020, a package from Norway came to Sister JoAnne Backes in the gift shop. It contained samples of his creative work…and his personal explanations:
“In Northern England a fly called ‘spider’ is popular in streams and lakes; I made a couple for you with silk from the monastery. It was not easy to use this silk, but I think it will have good properties when wet.”
“There is a popular design with a silver body, black wing and tail and hackle of some color.”
“As trout like pink, I made a couple with pink, I made a couple with pink tail and hackle for you.”
“A few types I have good experience with; a big eyed one and small black floating beetle.”
SHALL WE INDEED GO FISHING?
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers provide hospitality in the lobby of the Art and Heritage Place, welcome visitors, invite them to view the exhibition, sign the guest book and assist the museum staff by tallying the number of visitors. These and other volunteer opportunities are coordinated through the volunteer office.
Monastic Artisans
Artisans have always had a place in Benedictine monastic tradition. In Chapter 57 of his Rule, Saint Benedict speaks of the desired humility in the community’s artisans. They may create items which are useful or pieces which grace the monastery in beauty. They pursue their craft for the sheer love of doing it—to make an article of beauty and to share the fruits of their work with others. Sister artisans paint, sew, quill, tat and make paper, scarves, candles and a host of other items. These art pieces, both beautiful and useful, are sold at the monastery gift shop in the Art and Heritage Place at Saint Benedict’s Monastery and Saint Scholastica Convent Gift Shop.
Artisans in their creations, and all who view or use them, are encouraged and motivated by Benedict’s comment on the role of artisans: “That in all things, God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11 quoted in the Rule of Benedict 7:9).
Reflections From Monastic Artisans
“Making pressed flower designs for cards is a spiritual unfolding for me as I observe the entire lifecycle of the flower. It nourishes my spirit and helps me grow into a better person.”
“Besides the satisfaction of being relaxed when busy with my hands in crocheting, embroidering and cross-stitching, there’s also a swelling of pride in the talent of our community.”
“My love of beauty is satisfied in working with colorful floss, creating beautiful embroidery. Also, it is a quiet, contemplative activity.”
“Capturing nature on paper in photography gives me a feeling of an intense presence of God in flowers and changing seasons.”
“In quilling, a lost art, I can use my imagination. I can quill, be quiet and be in the presence of God—all at the same time.”