Fall 2006

Monastery Welcomes International Sisters

Third-year student Sister Auxilia Hokororo (far right) welcomes newly arrived sisters from her native Tanzania.  They are (left to right) Sisters Ponsiana Raphael Macha, Katharina Mtitu, Paula Ngagani, and Mary Ludovick Msaki. Srs. Katharina and Paula are Missionary Benedictines and Srs. Ponsiana and Mary Ludovick are Sisters of the Holy Spirit.


The Yankton Benedictines have been gifted with the presence this year of seven sisters from other countries.  Five are full-time students at Mount Marty College and two are enjoying a sabbatical after completing terms of leadership.   In addition to their studies, these seven sisters are sharing their rich cultures and their way of living the Rule of Benedict and experiencing how monastic life is lived by the Yankton Sisters.

 Korean Benedictine Sisters Hasang Chong (left) and Eligio Ryu  (right) take a break from their studies to enjoy the beauty of the St. John’s Bible Book of the Gospels in the monastery library

Yankton Sisters Hostess

Vocation Awareness Days

   Participants in the Vocation Awareness Day included (Front, l.to.r.) Sioux Falls students Alexis Kosiak & Kennedy Risseeuw, St. Michael’s; Maggie Krier, St. Mary; Mitchell Keena, Holy Spirit; and Annatasia Maxwell, St. Mary’s, Dell Rapids; and (Back) S. Barbara McTague OSB, Deacon Peter Loving, & S. Eileen O’Connor all of Yankton, and S. Phyllis Gill PBVM, Aberdeen.    (Photo courtesy of James Greene)
 

Sister Julie Peak Celebrates First Profession

 
Sister Julie Peak OSB made her first profession of stability, obedience, and fidelity to the Benedictine way of life during Evening Prayer on August 5, 2006 at Sacred Heart Monastery.

Prior to her entrance into Sacred Heart Monastery in 2004, S. Julie had served as Registrar for Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell for 6 years.

 S. Jennifer, prioress, witnesses S. Julie signing her profession formula.
 

S. Jacquelyn Shares Experiences
Of Sabbatical in Ruaraka, Kenya

S. Jacquelyn Ernster, former prioress of Sacred Heart Monastery, spent several months of her sabbatical working with the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in Ruaraka, Kenya, a suburb of Nairobi.  The mission is near the Matari slum area and serves the poor of the area through a nursery school, elementary school and a dispensary.  There are 650 students in the schools and between 250-350 clients a day at the dispensary.

S. Jacquelyn holds an orphan who was left on the steps of the monastery in Nairobi, Kenya.

In reflecting on some of her most meaningful experiences in Kenya, she says that “Seeing the courage and determination in the young sisters who believe they can make a difference and are willing to work hard to  make it happen was an inspiration.” 

Sisters Visit Swiss “Roots”

During Summer Program

S. Bonita Gacnik (left) and S. Patricia Ann Tos-cano (right) visit with Mother Margrith Jegerlehner OSB, prioress of the Benedictine community at Marienburg, Wikon, Switzerland.  Seen in the background is a painting of Mother Gertrude Leupi, foundress of both Sacred Heart Monastery and the Marienburg community.  Mother Gertrude is buried in the cemetery at Marienburg.

Sisters Bonita and Patricia Ann participated in the four-week Rome Renewal Program for Benedictine women from the United States and then traveled to Switzerland to visit both Marienburg and Maria Rickenbach, the first community founded by Mother Gertrude prior to her coming  to the United States in the 1870s.

Sisters Enjoy Annual Fourth of July

Picnic and Activities

Sisters Kara Payer (left) and Virginia Pieper (right) grill hamburgers for the annual community picnic.

(left to right clockwise) Guests Don Schramm and Pam McBride join Novice Barbara Kowalkowski and Sisters Joyce Feterl, Denette Leifeld and Arthur Schramm in enjoying traditional picnic fare on the 4th of July.

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