Community Information

On November 11, 1863, at 11:00 in the evening, seven Benedictine Sisters arrived in Atchison, Kansas, from Eichstätt, Germany--by way of Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Upon their arrival, they opened St. Scholastica Academy and a long history of educational opportunities for young women and men from all over the midwestern United States became a reality. Presently the community consists of 160 women devoted to a communal life of prayer, work and hospitality lived according to the Rule of St. Benedict and the constitutions of the Federation of St. Scholastica with Sister Anne Shepard as our Prioress. The sisters serve God's people in various ministries according to their individual gifts.

A brief timeline of our community history

View slide shows of our early community history:
(Created by Sister Marie Louise Krenner, community archivist)
The beginning to 1879
1880 to 1884
1884 to 1897
1897 to 1903
1904 to 1907
1907 to 1912

What's New at the Mount -- If you are looking for the latest news from the Mount, click this link: "What's Happening". On the first page, www.mountosb.org, you can click the first link "What's Happening" and get to our "news" page, too.

View Seeking God Together, a short video about monastic life at Mount St. Scholastica, made by Jen McClaflin and Lauren Murphy as a Discovery Project at Benedictine College in March 2006.

Want to know what about the day-to-day life of one of our sisters...Check out Sister Diana Seago's blog, Nun Bytes. Sister Diana is our network administrator.

Tours of the monastery are regularly given on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 and 2:30. For information, reservations or to arrange a special tour outside these times, contact: hospitality@mountosb.org.

Community statistics

Community photograph

We have over one hundred oblates who have associated with our community as a means to further their own spiritual growth and to share in the prayer and the good works of our monastery.

This window collage is based on the rose window in St. Scholastica Chapel. You can now view the beautiful stained glass windows in that chapel from your home.