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!
The Spirituality Center offers a variety of in-person and virtual programs and retreats.
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.
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.
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.
For more information, contact:
Mary Catherine Holicky, OSB
Co-Director of the Spirituality Center
(320) 363-7112
mholicky@csbsju.edu
For more information, contact:
Eunice Antony, OSB
Co-Director of the Spirituality Center
(320) 363-7112
eantony@csbsju.edu
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.
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:
Are you at the point in your project where:
Are you in need of:
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
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 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.
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.
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
Rates for Resident Visiting Scholars (apartment, office, meals):
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.
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.
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.
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