Benedictines Celebrate Anniversaries of Profession

Back row: Silver Jubilarian Sister Linda Herndon, Prioress
Sister Mary Collins, Golden Jubilarian Sister Marilyn Krier
Front row: Golden Jubilarians Sisters Mary Grace Malaney,
Helen Zecha, Amelia Nowatzke, Mary Ann Fessler, and
Mary Lucy Kramer

Every July 11, the sisters at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison celebrate the feast of St. Benedict. Like many other Benedictine monasteries, the feast is also a time to honor those who mark milestones in their following of St. Benedict. This year, both silver and golden jubilarians were recognized and renewed their monastic profession. The fiftieth anniversary sisters also have three classmates who are now members of Benet Hill Monastery in Colorado Springs, a foundation made in the 1960s. Two of them, Sisters Helen Zecha and Marilyn Krier, also attended the celebration in Atchison.

Raised in northwest Missouri, Sister Linda Herndon made her first profession twenty-five years ago. She is currently head of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Benedictine College. She commented that if her first 25 years in community is any indication, the next 25 will bring her many and varied opportunities to serve her sisters and to minister to God's people. She looks to the future with hope and optimism and is grateful for the gift that community has been to her these past 25 years.

Among those celebrating fifty years of monastic life was Sister Mary Lucy Kramer, an Atchison native. Daughter of the late Florence and Francis Kramer, she spent most of her childhood with her grandparents, Jim and Bertha Dooley of Good Intent. Her acquaintance with the Benedictines also included two aunts and four great-aunts in the local monastery. Her teaching career has included elementary and high school, and her latest ministry is with English as a Second Language students at Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas." My early desire to be a missionary has been partially realized because I now meet and learn from people from all over the world right here."

Another instructor at Donnelly is jubilarian Sister Grace Malaney. She met the Benedictines when she attended Lillis High School in Kansas City, Mo. Unlike Sister Mary Lucy, her missionary desires were realized with ten years spent in Mineiros and Itaberaba, Brazil. She now teaches mathematics and continues to share the learning she has received." The longer I live in community, the more thankful I am," is her summary of these fifty years.

Sister Amelia Nowatzke also got to know the sisters through her school years. She was raised on a farm and attended Benedictine schools in Panama, Iowa. For most of her life she has been a teacher and parish pastoral associate. She recalls the instructions of the priest on the day she became a novice, to "wear out, not rust out." That advice has certainly been taken to heart as she works today as director of hospitality at the monastery, greeting and assisting people both in the guest rooms and at the switchboard.

Sister Mary Ann Fessler was also raised on a farm, the youngest of a large family in Wien, Mo., who experienced Benedictine education at their local school. She recalls daydreaming about being a teacher and a sister, then growing up to fulfill that dream. She is part of a small foundation in Harlan, Iowa, called Covenant Monastery which, while still affiliated with the Mount community, is attempting to establish a permanent presence in that region. She speaks for all who have made long-term commitments in life when she says, "Prayer and trust in God have been my strength these fifty years and continue to bless my life each day."

More pictures from the Jubilee celebration