Benedictine Sister Turns 100

Relatives of Sister Fabian Dekat, OSB, joined the sisters at Mount St. Scholastica on Sunday, January 7, to celebrate her 100th birthday. Sister Fabian was born in Flush, Kansas, on January 10, 1907, and came to the monastery in 1922. She has served in 22 different assignments in elementary schools during a teaching career that spanned nearly sixty years.

There is no such thing as retirement, however, for a Benedictine sister. After returning to Atchison, she still had opportunities to serve in various ways around the monastery. Her favorites were those which kept her in touch with children. She was an eager volunteer in day care and pre-school programs sponsored by the sisters, her favorite job being to hold babies and rock them to sleep. She was featured that way in a poster from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops promoting their collection in support of retired religious. Even now, she has a special ministry of prayer for the community and the needs of the world.

Sister Fabian is not our first sister to reach 100 years. In the history of the Mount community, four others have lived to that age, but the last such celebration was several years ago. Sister Fabian selected the menu for her party and also chose a new dress for the occasion. After the party, she advised, "Don't turn 100, it's too tiring," but by the next day, she was ready to forge ahead into a new century of living.