Spirituality Center•Studium

Name: Telling Untold Stories About Ordinary Heroes and Sheroes
Start: 2025-10-04T09:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-10-04T11:30:00-05:00
Location: Spirituality Center

Mission

The Spirituality Center•Studium, a ministry of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn., responds to the human longing for God and invites others to join the monastic community in deepening relationships with God, self, others, and all creation.

Spirituality Center

The Spirituality Center is a home in which to seek solitude, quiet and peace on the west end of our monastery grounds. Women and men of all faiths and cultures are welcome!

Programs and Retreats

The Spirituality Center offers a variety of in-person and virtual programs and retreats.

September Through December 2025

Hermitages

Two Amish-built one-room hermitages located near the monastery’s peaceful woods are available for solitude and reflection for a day, a couple of days, or a week. Each hermitage is supplied with a bed, desk, kitchenette, bathroom with shower, and screened-in three-season porch. For more information, call (320) 363-7112 or email spirituality@csbsju.edu.

Centering Prayer

Communal Centering Prayer takes place in the Spirituality Center Prayer Room from 4:15–4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. All are welcome to attend.

Labyrinth

The labyrinth is an archetype found in all religious traditions in various forms around the world. It has only one path, so there are no tricks or dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joys. Walk it with an open mind and an open heart.

The Three Stages of the Walk

Releasing: Let go of the details of your life.
Receiving: The center is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive there what is being given to you.
Returning: As you leave, you follow the same path out of the center as you came in. You enter the third stage, which is joining God, your Higher Power, or the healing forces at work in the world.

For more information, contact:

Mary Catherine Holicky, OSB
Director of the Spirituality Center
(320) 363-7112
mholicky@csbsju.edu

For more information, contact:

Eunice Antony, OSB
Assistant Director of the Spirituality Center
(320) 363-7112
eantony@csbsju.edu

Studium: A Scholar’s Program

Vision

The Rule of Benedict affirms the wisdom and unique gifts of each person. Honoring the monastic tradition, Studium provides the hospitality and environment where members motivate, support and empower one another in their creative endeavors, sharing in the transforming work of the Spirit.

What is Studium?

Studium, a program of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, was founded in 1992 to enable sisters to use their gifts and professional training while living at the monastery and to provide a setting where retired sisters might continue to share their wisdom and expertise. Within a year of its founding, monastery scholars realized that both their ministry and their work would be enhanced by hospitality to persons from outside the monastery.

Studium places special emphasis on the love of learning, honoring scholarship as a sacred ministry, and combines three key elements of Benedictine life:

the love of learning
the desire for God
the commitment to beauty

Are you at the point in your project where:

it’s ready, but you’re unsure how to begin?
it’s underway, but you’re stuck?
it’s almost done, but you need a final push?

Are you in need of:

help starting, getting unstuck, or finishing?
time away from daily distractions?
a nurturing, supporting community of passionate people which is there when you need them, but out of the way when you need to concentrate?

Or, maybe you’re on a roll and the project is coming along splendidly—lucky you.

Whether you’re at the beginning, in the middle, or approaching the end of your project, and whether it’s a slog or a snap, Studium may be just what you need for a stay of anywhere from a week to four months.

For more information, contact:

Ann Marie Biermaier, OSB
Director of Studium
(320) 363-7172
abiermaier@csbsju.edu

Studium Scholars

Participants in the program are called Studium scholars. A scholar is someone dedicated to lifelong learning, for whom thinking and finding things out, imagining, communicating, and creating are fundamental to a meaningful life.

Sister and visiting scholars share the same work spaces. Sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery who are working on individual projects constitute the core of Studium. Monastery scholars have produced an astonishing array of scholarly work—books, homily helps, prayer books, hymn collections, retreat conferences, parish histories, articles, and more.

Visiting scholars are women and men who are in broad agreement with Benedictine cultural and social commitments (awareness of God, community, prayer and work, listening, hospitality, stewardship, peace) and for whom the interdisciplinary, intergenerational, interfaith and intercultural setting of Studium offers an appealing venue for their own scholarly work. The projects pursued at Studium by visiting scholars cover a wide range of subjects and disciplines, such as biblical perspectives on contemporary living, a theological commentary for the Bible Series, the spiritual journey as transformation, Buddhist and Christian spiritual practices, and a novel set in medieval times.

Visiting Scholars, Resident and Day

Visiting scholars can be either resident or day scholars. Visiting scholars will generally come from a distance from the monastery. Day scholars generally live in the local area and come to work during the day, then return home for the evening. They rent an office to do their work.

Current Scholars HMML Scholars Hosted by Studium

What can I expect?

Accommodations

Each resident visiting scholar is provided an apartment that has a kitchenette, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Linens are provided.
Each visiting scholar, whether resident or day, has a spacious office and access to a copy machine and fax machine in a central room. Charges for copying and faxing are nominal.
Scholars are asked to bring their own computer, and a printer is available for your use. Scholars are asked to pay a nominal fee for the paper and copying.
Scholars are asked to use personal cell phones or phone cards for long-distance calls.
Meals are available in the monastery dining room.
Laundry facilities are available.

Chairs arranged facing each other for conversations

Opportunities

Scholars are invited to participate in Liturgy of Hours and Eucharist with the monastic community.
Scholars have access to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University Libraries, Saint Benedict’s Monastery Archives, and the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at Saint John’s University.
Scholars are welcome to attend cultural and artistic events at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.
Scholars have access to the College of Saint Benedict’s Haehn Center, which includes a track, fitness rooms, and a swimming pool.

How do I apply?

Criteria

Studium applicants’ projects and personal style need to be in keeping with Benedictine cultural and social commitments, such as awareness of God, community, prayer and work, listening, hospitality, stewardship, and peace. The boundaries are wide! Applicants should state why they believe Studium is an appropriate venue for their work and must be willing to share the fruit of their work at regular Studium meetings.

Application

To apply to be a visiting scholar, you can apply online or download the visiting scholars application form and mail it to:

Ann Marie Biermaier, OSB

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

Financial Arrangements

Rates for Resident Visiting Scholars (apartment, office, meals):

Per Day
$65 (no meals provided)
$90 (meals included)

Per Week
$425 (no meals provided)
$600 (meals included)

Per month (effective August 1, 2023)
$1,950 (no meals provided)
$2,500 (meals included)

If your application is accepted for a month-long stay or longer, you will be expected to send a $100 deposit to confirm your place. It will be 50% refundable with five days’ notice.

Rate for Day Visiting Scholars (office):

Per month (effective July 1, 2020)
$250

Per-day meal plan
Breakfast: $8.50
Lunch: $12
Main: $12

Grants may be awarded to resident visiting scholars who are here for a month or longer. To apply, send a short statement (300 words or less) on the financial need for the grant.

What kind of works have been completed at Studium?

Publications Presentations

Praise For Studium

“Studium is a sanctuary for research, writing and creativity, but it is much more: a place of shared liturgy and prayer, a community of charity and hospitality, an environment to feed and heal the soul, a graced opportunity to explore, to seek, to find meaning and connection with self, others, nature and God. A place to experience gratitude. Come.”

Steven Chase (Day Scholar)

“My work focused on credit for low-income communities based on a real concern about the challenges of the human condition in the modern economy. As an economist, it is somewhat easy to become mired in technical details, and I appreciated my interactions with members of the Sisters of Saint Benedict, as well as other Studium participants as I researched and reflected on the academic problems I confronted. Their genuine concern about matters of social justice and well-being and hospitable spirit helped to provide balance to my thinking and acted as a leavening agent to my studies.”

Parker Wheatley (Day Scholar)

“Studium at Saint Benedict’s Monastery is much more than a quiet place away, where I can read, research, reflect, and write poems and essays without interruption. When Krista Tippett interviewed Pico Iyer for the podcast On Being, he described his first visit to New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery in Big Sur, California. There, he encountered a silence that held the presence of a transparent world. He felt a lightness of being, and sensed he was stepping into a richer, deeper life. When I enter the Studium halls leading to my office, I am among a community of Sisters, scholars, and associates who, in the way they pray, work, listen, receive guests, and journey through every day, foster an important, invisible reality—a presence that transforms not only my writing, but also my being. My work and my life grow richer and deeper.”

Tracy Rittmueller (Day Scholar)

“Studium is a place where ideas bloom. Bring a seed and a willingness to work. Studium will help you reap a rich, life changing harvest.”

Cheryl Crozier Garcia (Resident Scholar)

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Spiritual Direction and Supervision

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

These are difficult times. And yet, God is with us in all of it. When we allow ourselves to slow down and take even a few minutes to quiet, we may begin to wonder where God is in our life. Where are we going on this sacred journey? We may desire to talk to someone who is there to listen and help sort out thoughts and questions. For many centuries, individuals have found companions and guides called spiritual directors/companions with whom they can share their sacred story.

What is spiritual direction?

Spiritual direction is about two persons sharing, one of whom is trained to do holy listening and help discover how and where God is already present in one’s life. Trained to listen to our sacred stories in a nonjudgmental way, the spiritual director enables us to move forward, growing and developing in our own personal friendship with a loving God. The true Director is the Holy Spirit, and the director is a companion on this sacred journey.

It is the whole person, body, mind and spirit that is material for sharing and not simply about the spiritual, prayer and faith life, though it does include this. Meeting with a spiritual director is done in a sacred, confidential way so we can share and listen for God’s movements in our personal relationships, work and prayer life. It is about discovering God’s presence in all our life experiences. Every moment God is inviting us to an ever-deepening relationship. We are free to either accept or resist the invitation.

Who do I contact for spiritual direction?

For any questions or to schedule an appointment with a spiritual director, contact Sister Josue Behnen at (320) 363-7179 or jbehnen@csbsju.edu.

Is there a fee for spiritual direction?

Spiritual direction is a professional ministry, and so our suggested fee is $55 per session. We do not turn people away if they are unable to pay; we are happy to adjust the fee in order to meet their needs.

Supervision

If you are a spiritual director, you are asked to meet with peers for regularly scheduled group-facilitated supervision sessions for ongoing support in this ministry. Sessions are facilitated by a spiritual director trained to lead the process of supervision. If you are interested, contact Sister Eunice Antony at (320) 363-8927 or eantony@csbsju.edu.

Spiritual Direction Certificate Program

In collaboration with the Spirituality Center, Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary offers a two-year graduate certificate in Spiritual Direction, which includes an internship with the guidance of trained supervisors. This certificate weaves together the traditional Benedictine practices of hospitality, stability, continual conversion, and reading life as sacred story.

Learn More