SISTER BONITA GACNIK, OSB - 25 years
S. Bonita, daughter of the late Stanley and Viola Gacnik, is a native of Pueblo, CO. She attended Catholic schools in Pueblo from the 1 through the 12th grade. She earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Southern Colorado State College in Pueblo. She worked at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO prior to her entering the monastery in 1984. She made first profession in 1986.
After earning M.A. degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of South Dakota she began a ministry of teaching at Mount Marty College in Yankton. She later earned a Ph.D. in Computing Technology in Education from the Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. S. Bonita now serves as professor of mathematics and computer science at Mount Marty College.
S. Bonita says that she grew up in a very religious home The example of her Benedictine teachers and pastors, her family and her older sister, S. Carolyn, a member of Sacred Heart Monastery, were major influences in her answering the call religious life. Reflecting on her jubilee she says, “My jubilee celebration causes me to be filled with deep gratitude for my religious community. I live with holy women, committed to seeking God and serving God’s people. Monastic life calls me daily to stretch and grow. It is a life of grace and opportunity.”
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 SISTER VIRGINIA PIEPER, OSB - 25 years
S. Virginia Pieper OSB celebrated her 25th jubilee of monastic profession during the Eucharist on August 7 at Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, SD.
S. Virginia, daughter of Harold Pieper of Gering and the late Mary Ann Pieper, grew up on a farm near Mitchell, NE. She graduated from Mitchell Public School. She attended Mount Marty College for three years prior to entering the monastery in 1984. She made first profession in 1986. She earned a BA degree in religious education from Mount Marty College and a MA degree in Earth Literacy from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana.
Her ministry has included internal ministry in yards, maintenance and housekeeping at the monastery and Mount Marty College and pastoral ministry at parishes in White Lake and Kimball, SD. She currently is in charge of the monastery garden and orchard and does guest lectures on various aspects of ecology and stewardship of the earth.
Reflecting on her call to monastic life, she says “Benedictine life has taught me to seek God in everything. It has brought the exterior world and the interior life together. The Earth, scripture and the Rule of Benedict have all influenced my journey of seeking God as a Benedictine sister.”
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