Sister Suzanne Fitzmaurice

During my years as a Benedictine Sister, I have served in many capacities, among them as a high school teacher and as associate director at Keeler Women’s Center in Kansas City. Since returning to Mount St. Scholastica in 2020, I serve as “monastery go-fer”: shopping for sisters, making trips to the bank and runs to the post office and library. I also make deliveries to Catholic Charities and perform any other errands that are needed. I make frequent trips to Kansas City, bringing donations and other goods to various organizations to be reused by others. Another of my ministries involves serving on various diocesan boards for both the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Information Technology is a large part of my ministry, and not just at the Mount. As an IT Support Specialist, I assist Sisters with their iPads, phones and computers. This includes helping when they use Zoom and other communication apps and finding apps that fit their interest such as PBS, games, sports or library-reading apps. I assist with updates and troubleshoot when things go wrong.

My ministry as director of hospitality at Sophia Spirituality Center involves assisting with Zoom retreats and gatherings as needed, video recording and posting concerts, video recording in-person retreats, and managing and updating technology equipment. I help the other Sisters on staff with technology issues, arrange for welcoming and lodging guests, create menus and shop for supplies for on-site retreats.

I am blessed to be able to use my computer skills as “web weaver” for the Federation of St. Scholastica, of which Mount St. Scholastica is a member, providing updates and maintenance for the federation website. When needed, I assist with IT support for other monasteries and federation gatherings.

Being Benedictine centers all that I do and my entire day back to prayer and God. Everything comes from that perspective. It isn’t a job; it is a ministry. It is a way of being present and assisting others, but that is done through and out of my faith and relationship with God. Since COVID, I am able to assist in ways that are more needed in our community since people are not going out. It is a way to make the lives of the Sisters a bit easier.