Contact Information:

  Please submit any questions
   concerning our vocation to:

         Vocation Director
    Sacred Heart Monastery
           1005 W. 8th
      Yankton, SD 57078
        (605) 668-6000
    vocations@mtmc.edu

As a theater student in college, Carol Jean VanDenHemel played many roles. But on January 3, 1998, the curtain rose on a new stage in her life.

On that day, she entered Sacred Heart Monastery, the first step leading to a lifetime role as a sister.

S. Carol Jean is pictured here with her students.
She teaches English and Religion at O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, SD.

"I thought about this once or twice in high school, then I ignored it for awhile and dated three or four guys seriously," she said.

But the call never left her. When she knocked on the monastery door for
admittance, she said, "I thought I would try it and see if it was something I needed to do. It takes five years before I would make my final commitment. In the meantime, I can answer, 'Do I want to be here, or do I want to get married?"

A Woonsocket, South Dakota native, VanDenHemel said as a girl she found no strong signs pointing her toward the monastery. She and her two younger sisters attended public schools, and they had no relatives in the clergy.

"I was an average Catholic, fairly active," she said. "My parents were open about a religious vocation but they didn't push it on us."

In visiting with the sisters, she found a vibrant group of women. "It's not a community behind a wall, it's a community engaged in life," she said.

While in college, she attended a Search and Discover meeting for those considering the priesthood or other religious life. "I saw others considering it, and I talked to them about it," she said.

VanDenHemel made her application to the monastery in June and was accepted in August. Her family joined her in the January 3 ceremony marking her entrance into the monastery, followed by a celebration dinner with the monastic community.

"There is a lot of confusion about the monastery," Carol said. "Some people think I can't come home, that I can't see my family and that I can't call home. My friends were surprised to learn that I can follow a profession or continue further education. I didn't come here to just pray all day, although prayer is an essential part of this lifestyle."

Carol was the monastery's first new member in two years and for Sister Marietta Kerkvliet, it was a cause for joy and encouragement.

"We have 150 professed Sisters in our Benedictine community, 112 of whom live at the motherhouse in Yankton. This past year we welcomed three women into the novitiate. So Carol's coming was kind of the beginning of a celebration," S. Marietta said.

"There seems to be such a lack of knowledge of what we are all about. There are fewer of us physically in the schools and parishes, and there are greater challenges in serving the church. Society, sadly, often puts little value on the priesthood and religious life," S. Marietta said. "Another part of our culture is the lack of belief in permanent commitment."

In many respects, VanDenHemel feels like she is back in college. The monastery resembles a dorm setting, mixing group sharing while respecting each other's privacy.

"You do your part, like the washing, and you remember to turn down the radio when others are sleeping " she said.

Benedictine candidates must be at least two years out of high school, which VanDenHemel says is a good rule. "You take time and experience various aspects of life, and get a better picture of what you want to do with your life and where you want to go."

While Benedictines do not have educational requirements, they do stress character and lifelong learning. "We seek generosity, involvement in church and finding a relationship with God's people," Sister Marietta said. "You adjust to living celibately, and we note whether you make and maintain friendships or have instant friends who come and go."

"The monastery is considered a lifelong home. We take a vow of stability to this place and to these people. Carol may work away from here, but the monastery remains 'home' for all its members."

VanDenHemel spent her first year as a pre-novitiate candidate. She advanced to the novitiate her second year, and was at the monastery full time. On August 5, 1999, she made monastic profession for three years, at the end of which she may make a lifetime commitment.

While VanDenHemel is younger, she said she doesn't feel a generation gap.

"They let me be who I am, and I bring knowledge of youth today. Some people thought I would have to change who I am-a loud, boisterous person who says what she thinks-but I am still Carol."

That suits Sister Marietta just fine. "Carol's entrance brings a special energy to our home. It causes us who have been here for some time to look back on why we came and stayed, and it makes us willing to recommit."