Sister Gervase Judge Celebrates 75th Anniversary

“I never thought it could happen to me, but it did!” says Sister Gervase Judge. Few people live to celebrate 75 years of their life commitment, but that is what she did on February 10, 2005, at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas. A native of rural Nebraska, she arrived at the monastery in 1928 and made her first vows as a Benedictine two years later.

Asked how she decided to become a sister, she laughs. “I don’t know if I really decided. When I was born the sister at the hospital told my mother to pray I’d be a nun and they both prayed. Apparently, it worked.” More seriously however, she acknowledges the example of the sisters who taught her at a Benedictine high school in Atkinson, Nebraska.

As a young girl, she worked hard on the family farm, but as a Benedictine became a teacher and spent many years as an elementary and secondary school teacher and as a high school principal. She doesn’t attempt to give a number, but agrees it is safe to say that, in her 52 year career, she touched the lives of thousands of young people and their families.

In her retirement, she has not only assisted in various services at the monastery, but has been recognized for one of her special pastimes. This year, she and her younger sister, Sister Lorene Judge, were featured on the football schedule poster for Benedictine College. They are considered the team’s best fans, offering special prayers and writing encouraging notes to the team for every game.

Her enthusiasm for life clearly has not waned over the years. She has seen many changes in the world and in religious life and sees most of them as progress. She went from driving mules on the farm to witnessing space travel. “Technology is good,” she observes, “but it still bothers me that they spend so much on it when we have sick and hungry people right here in our own town.” As for changes in religious life, she comments, “I loved the way it was when I came, but more personal freedom hasn’t caused us to fall apart or become lukewarm. We still have the glue that holds us -- our Benedictine practices.”

It was, then, with a clear understanding that she renewed her monastic profession at Mass on the feast of St. Scholastica. She advises everyone starting such a long journey to remember that “God is at the wheel, and if you trust God, nothing is too much out of reach. You just have to be obedient and take what comes with generosity and resignation.”

Collection of photos from the celebration