S EILEEN O'CONNOR OSB

A native of Brooklyn, NY, S. Eileen O’Connor is the daughter of the late Hugh and Eileen O’Connor.  S. Eileen became acquainted with the Yankton Benedictines through correspondence with the Sisters serving at St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain.

  She entered the community in 1958 and says, “I came to share my life with a community seeking God’s will together in prayer, work and play.” Her ministry has included teaching in Lincoln, NE; Chamberlain and Sioux Falls, SD; parish ministry at St. Theresa's Parish in Sioux Falls, SD; and currently serving as one of the vocation directors for the community.

S. ESTHER HOLZBAUER OSB

S. Esther was born on the family farm near Wagner, SD during a raging blizzard.  She is the daughter of the late Lawrence and Ida Holzbauer.

   She felt called to Benedictine life by the example of her teachers at Mount Marty High School.  Her ministry has been in healthcare as a nurse at hospitals in Parkston, Yankton and Sioux Falls, SD; Omaha, NE and Warm Springs, GA, and as a nursing instructor at Mount Marty College.  She currently teaches at Mount Marty College and does parish ministry at St. Benedict Parish, Yankton.

  She says, “My experience as a Benedictine has been a life-long seeking of God in the people I lived and worked with in the places that I have ministered.”

SISTER JACQUELYN ERNSTER OSB

S. Jacquelyn is a native of Salem, SD and the daughter of the late John Ernster and Eleanor Ernster Ingalls.  She attended St. Mary’s Grade and High School in Salem. Seeing others serve and benefiting from the wisdom of the elders were important aspects of S. Jacquelyn’s call.

  Her ministry has been in education including serving as faculty member, academic dean and president of Mount Marty College.  She served the community as prioress from 1997-2005.  She is currently the Executive Director of the African Sisters Education Collaborative in Scranton, PA, whose purpose is to assist African religious in providing access to education.

 She is proud to be a Benedictine, “because of the emphasis on community, communal and private prayer and peace all of which are such important witnesses in today’s world.”