Past Leadership
Since its founding, our monastery has been guided by a prioress, who functions as the leader of the community. She consults with the council, conducts community meetings, and is both spiritual and temporal leader of the community.
“The authority of a Benedictine community is expressed and exercised principally through the prioress whose most important service to her community is to unite it through Christ in his Spirit. In dialogue with her sisters, and through teaching by both word and deed, she performs her ministry as a mediator of Christ’s presence in the community.”
–Call to Life
Our Prioresses
Mother Evangelista Kremmeter
Prioress 1863-1884
Mary Ann Kremmeter was born in New Ulm, Bavaria and immigrated to the United States with her brother, who settled in St. Mary’s, Penn. She entered the Benedictine community at St. Mary’s in 1854 and made her profession of vows in 1857. When it was decided that sisters should go to St. Cloud, Minn., Sister Evangelista was one of the four chosen to depart. Although she believed much good could be done in this primitive land, the people were not supportive of the sisters, so a decision was made to leave St. Cloud and have one group go to St. Joseph, Minn., and another to Atchison, Kan. Benedictine monks had settled in Atchison and were anxious to have sisters come to educate the children and young women. Sister Evangelista was named the superior for the venture, and she was accompanied by Sister Gregoria Moser and five other sisters, one of whom was a novice. Seven sisters arrived on Nov. 11, 1863, and opened an academy by Dec. 21. They received their first candidate in the community on Dec. 27.
During her tenure as prioress there is not much known, but letters portray her as an “indefatigable seeker of ways to advance the community.” She wrote frequently to the Ludwig Mission Society of Bavaria for financial assistance.
Under her leadership, the community grew from 7 to 70, and the Price Villa mansion was purchased for a convent and academy. In 1884, to accommodate the growing school and community, she built a second building, St. Scholastica Hall (which was later razed). She also began missions outside Atchison – Seneca, St. Benedict’s near Seneca, Wathena, and Hanover.
Mother Theresa Moser
Prioress 1884-1897
Barbara Moser was born in Carrolltown, Penn., in 1847. She asked to transfer from the school in St. Mary’s, Penn., to the Academy in Atchison because her sister, Sister Gregoria Moser, had been among the pioneer sisters in Atchison. As a postulant, she was sometimes sent to buy groceries since the sisters themselves were cloistered.
She was a teacher of German and needlework in the Academy.
Although still quite young, she was appointed novice mistress and later chosen to represent the superior during Mother Evangelista’s time of failing health. Most of the letters written by Mother Theresa dealt with financial matters such as paying off the debt the sisters had incurred through the purchase of buildings and property. There is little known about her time as prioress, but one account reveals her concern for the poor. When a family came to the sisters for food, she suggested that a table be set for them under a linden tree, and then she herself prepared pancakes for everyone. She also spearheaded an effort to send money to the needy Benedictine Sisters in Italy.
Her compassion was evident when four young sisters died of tuberculosis early in her term. She frequently gave her bed to the one in a dying condition. In 1892 she restored the Divine Office which had been discontinued due to the pressing duties of teaching and household work of the community. During her tenure, the Benedictine community continued to grow in membership and also in the number of parochial schools staffed by the sisters.
Mother Aloysia Northman
Prioress 1897-1924
Lena Northman was born in St. Louis, Mo. As a child not yet 11 years old, she came to the Academy and joined the Benedictine Sisters a few months before her 13th birthday.
She was a talented student and later a gifted musician and teacher. In 1881, she was appointed principal of the Academy, a position she held until she was elected prioress in 1897.
Mother Aloysia, a woman of keen judgment and great foresight, built the monastery and choir chapel in 1900. During her tenure, the community added 58 additional schools to their ministry and grew to more than 300 members. She also erected the Administration Building that would house the college and academy classrooms and dormitories.
Under her leadership, sisters were sent to universities to earn higher degrees to assure quality education for young women in northeast Kansas and beyond. When the Federation of St. Scholastica uniting many Benedictine communities in the U.S. was approved by Rome, she was elected the first president.
Mother Lucy Dooley
Prioress 1924-1950
Johanna Dooley was born in Good Intent, Kan., and was a graduate of the Mount Academy. Most of her religious life was spent as a teacher and principal of what was known as St. Louis College, an elementary school in Atchison. She drove the community’s first car, taking the sisters to and from school. Her happy and forceful personality was well known to the people of Atchison.
Mother Lucy saw the recently completed Administration Building develop into an accredited four-year college. During her tenure, the sisters bought the Woodhouse home, naming it Marywood, and built St. Catherine’s residence hall. In 1940, Bishop Edwin O’Hara asked the Benedictines to staff the new Lillis High School in Kansas City, Mo.; and in 1949, they established Donnelly College, a two-year community college, in Kansas City, Kan.
Mother Lucy sent sisters to California in 1943 and to Mexico City in 1944. She was a wise administrator, but is remembered even more for her kindness and joy. She was widely esteemed as the “great Mother Lucy.” She died in 1951.
Mother Alfred Scholl
Prioress 1950- 1962
Born in Greenleaf, Kan, Agnes Scroll attended the Mount Academy and then entered the Benedictine sisters in Atchison. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Mount St. Scholastica College and received her master’s degree from the Catholic University of America. After earning her doctorate in history from Columbia University, Sister Alfred became head of the history department at Mount St. Scholastica College and later dean of the college.
During her time as prioress, the community and the college grew rapidly and more space was necessary. Under her leadership, Kremmeter Hall, a residence hall; Riccardi Center, a student union; and Feeney Memorial Library were built. Marian Hall, a novitiate building, was also erected during her administration. In addition, she initiated the establishment of a new Benedictine foundation in California in 1952 and laid the groundwork for Benet Hill Monastery in Colorado Springs.
Mother Alfred served as president of the Federation of St. Scholastica and worked for the good of Benedictine communities in the U.S. She was among the first prioresses to make a pilgrimage to Rome and sacred places in Europe in 1950.
Mother Celeste Hemmen
Prioress 1962-1966
Marcella Hemmen was born in Belgium, Wis., and later her family moved to a farming community near Wichita. After entering the Mount community, she became a teacher, principal and mission superior. She earned a master of science degree from Kansas State University and pursued graduate studies in administration at Kansas State Teachers College.
Prior to her election as prioress, Sister Celeste was an instructor at Mount St. Scholastica College and Academy. In 1961, she organized the new St. Bernadette’s School in Ray-town, Mo., with an enrollment of 360 children.
When she was elected prioress in 1962, there were 552 professed sisters and 36 sisters in triennial profession. The sisters taught in 74 schools in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. Unfortunately, Mother Celeste became ill and died before finishing her six-year term.
Mother Mary Austin Schirmer
Prioress 1966-1976
Angela Schirmer was born in Newark, New Jersey, and graduated from the Benedictine Academy in Newark. After entering the Benedictine community in 1939, she became a primary teacher at St. Benedict Grade School in Kansas City, Kan. She taught primary grades and later college for 26 years before her election as prioress.
Her term as prioress was a period of great change following the Second Vatican Council.
During that period, the community began praying the Divine Office in English, experimented with mission coordinators rather than superiors, and began wearing modified habits. With concern for the elderly, she built Dooley Center for the community’s retirement needs. She was known as an effective administrator, a good listener, and a warm, compassionate friend.
After serving as prioress for ten years, she founded the Office of Services for the Aging in the archdiocese. For 16 years she directed programs to educate and assist the elderly of Northeast Kansas. When she became ill with cancer in 1991, she endured her suffering courageously and died peacefully on July 23, 1992. Before her death, she wrote in her column in The Leaven:
“At whatever stage you are in life, now is the time to prepare for suffering by developing a closeness to your God and an appreciation of the relationships of family and friends in your everyday life.”
Mother Noreen Hurter
Prioress 1976-1988
Elected as prioress in 1975, Mother Noreen Hurter encouraged ecumenical and international outreach, including concern for refugees, peace work, medical services and rural ministries. Sisters expanded retreat ministries to the laity and several services were begun for the needy in Atchison. These included a thrift shop, the Mount Service Center, and the Mount Mini School. The formation of the oblate program and Partners in Prayer also began in these years and continues today
During her term, Benedictines celebrated the 1500th hundredth anniversary of St. Benedict and Scholastica. The most noted event of this time was the monumental work of RB80 with Sister Imogene Baker as a its co-editor. Another important project of this time was the creation of a catechetical series for use in rural ministry, entitled Seasons of Faith. Mother Noreen encouraged sisters to consider beginning a new foundation. Two groups answered this call. One went to Harlan, Iowa, to work with farmers as many of them were losing their farms at that time. The other group went to Wake Forest, North Carolina. The founding group intended primarily to witness to the Roman Catholic prayer tradition, daily liturgy of the hours, eucharistic spirituality and contemplative prayer.
The end of her term was marked by the celebration of the Mount’s 125th anniversary. The Mount celebrated with a production of The Play of Daniel. Some chapel renovations also occurred during the final years. The rose windows were re-installed, and a free-standing marble altar was created from the marble of the old side altars and communion rails.
Early in her term of office, Mother Noreen had prayed to know what God wanted/expected of her in the office. After she prayed, these words from scripture came to her,
“This is what Yahweh asks of you, that you act justly, that you love tenderly, that you walk humbly with your God.”
This directive stayed with her through her 12 years as prioress.
Sister Mary Agnes Patterson
Prioress 1988-1999
Sister Mary Agness Patterson, the 9th prioress of Mount St. Scholastica, came to the office of prioress with a background in administration and counseling. She had served on the steering committee of the community senate and was an elected delegate to the Federation of St. Scholastica. She had taught history, had been a principal at Lillis High School, worked in administration at Donnelly College, and was director of special services in the Archdiocesan Office for the Aging.
A major challenge for Sister Mary Agnes happened in 1989 when Benedictine College decided to move all of its operations to the north campus. This decision left several buildings empty on our campus: Feeney Memorial Library, Kremmeter Hall and the Administration Building. The conference center would continue to use Riccardi and Northman Hall. St. Francis Academy, which specialized in treatment for troubled youth, signed a lease to use Kremmeter. The community voted to create The Mount Community Center (TMCC). Its primary purpose would be to serve the educational, cultural, spiritual and charitable needs of northeast Kansas. The center also served cultural needs through the Mount Musical Conservatory, Step in Time Dance and Elder Hostel and spiritual needs through a spirituality Center. Other changes in buildings took place when the Mount donated Feeney Memorial and Hemmen to the Academy of Mount St. Scholastica. Although this helped with the use of space, there was still a lot of unused space in the Administration Building. The community voted to have a feasibility plan to develop a 20-year master plan, which came up with six directional statements. TMCC continued to grow during the rest of her term.
At the end of her term, Sister Mary Agnes offered the following prayer:
I pray that we believe in ourselves, prefer nothing to Christ, and trust God working in us and all will be well.
Sister Mary Collins
Prioress 1999-2005
Sister Mary Collins was elected 10th prioress on June 13, 1999. She had a doctorate from The Catholic University of America, where she later became a professor and chair of the Department of Religion and Religious Education. She had also been on the faculty at Mount St. Scholastica College, Benedictine College, and the University of Kansas. She was known as a lecturer, speaker, consultant and frequent contributor of articles addressing theological and liturgical topics.
A significant figure in the broader world of Benedictine women, she was first councilor for the Federation of St. Scholastica for twelve years and a consultant or author for many of their documents. Sister Mary was a member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and belonged to several theological organizations. She wrote, collaborated on, or edited many articles and books on religion and liturgy for which she was widely known. She also received many awards, including honors from the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy and the North American Academy of Liturgy.
In a final letter to the community before she left office, Sister Mary made the following comments:
“We have set out together into the new century. In doing so, we have had to support one another as we faced personal and community losses. There will be more challenges to come. We do not know onto what path God is leading us. Yet, we do know from the experiences of these years, how strong we are when we trust in God and in one another. I look forward to the next leg of the journey with you.”
Sister Anne Shepard
Prioress 2005-2017
Born in New York City and raised in Washington D.C., Sister Anne Shepard entered Mount St. Scholastica in 1965. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and a doctorate in education. She was a teacher in junior high and high schools, high school principal, and superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. She was also director of development and communication for the Mount community.
At the time of her election in June of 2005, tough decisions needed to be made. Some of these related to reshaping our campuses and properties in Atchison, Kansas City, St. Joseph and Mineiros, Brazil. Among these were the razing of the sewing house, pickling cellar, Hemmen and Northman dorms, and the much more painful razing of the Administration Building. Renovations also took place in Dooley Center, St. Cecilia, and the monastery in Brazil.
In her address at the end of her term, Sister Anne wrote:
“During my time as prioress, I have experienced significant graces while spending time with every sister in one-on-one conferences, serving on committees and boards, leading community meetings, welcoming twelve transfers, and especially while accompanying sixty-eight sisters who died. While at the bedside of dying sisters, I have been very moved by their expressions of forgiveness, reconciliation, appreciation, and gratitude for the lives they led before God took their hand and welcomed them to their eternal home.”
Sister Esther Fangman
Prioress 2017-2023
Sister Esther Fangman came to the office of prioress with a wide background of experience. A licensed clinical professional counselor, she received a doctorate in counseling from Idaho State University and had served in several counseling settings. Before becoming prioress, she was in private practice, serving clients in the Kansas City area, and worked with victims of trauma at Keeler Women’s Center. She was president of the Federation of St. Scholastica from 1998-2010 and was a consultant for various groups on a national and international level.
Sister Esther had also been director of the counseling program at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Kansas City, Mo., where she trained para-professional counselors to work in the program and provided individual, family, marriage, and group counseling. She was also a drug and alcohol counselor for the greater Kansas City Mental Health Foundation in Kansas City, Mo.; addiction chaplain at Valley Hope Treatment Center, Atchison; and school psychologist at the Academy of Mount St. Scholastica.
The biggest challenge of her term as prioress was dealing with the Covid pandemic. Working with others and making some hard decisions, she managed to help the Mount weather the pandemic with no loss of sisters’ lives. She was instrumental in working with the Atchison County Health and Emergency Departments in offering Sophia Center as a clinic for Covid vaccinations.
At her installation she said,
“I can only believe Jesus’ words, ‘My yoke is easy and my burden light’ if I can get out of the way of God’s grace and if my sisters hold me up, if my family holds me up, if my friends and oblates hold me up.”
During her six years in office, she held all of us up.
Sister Mary Elizabeth Schweiger
Prioress 2023-Present
Sister Mary Elizabeth Schweiger, a native of Lenexa, Kansas, was installed as 13th prioress on June 9, 2023. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Mount St. Scholastica College and master’s degrees in spirituality from Creighton University and in theology from St. John’ University (Collegeville). Her ministries have included elementary school teacher, campus minister at Donnelly College; vocation director for the Mount and associate vocation director for the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas; pastoral associate/liturgist at Holy Name parish in Kansas City, Kansas, Holy Trinity parish in Lenexa, Kansas, and St. Peter’s in Kansas City, Missouri; coordinator of the Mount’s oblate directors; subprioress at the mount; and most recently director of the Souljourners program at Sophia Spirituality Center.
As she began her term of office, she stated
“As I look ahead at the next six years, I anticipate that I will be weary and burdened. I, too, will most likely find very little rest. One thing I know for certain: I am not alone. Each sister here draws strength, courage, and hope from one another. We walk our pilgrimage of faith as a community and remember each day the words of St. Benedict: ‘Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.’”
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