Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Perham marks the beginning of the Lake Park region of Minnesota. In 1873 the town was platted by the Lake Superior and Puget Sound Land Company and named after Josiah Perham, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The early businesses were the Glove Milling company and the Schmidt Wagon Works. Within ten years the Catholic community developed a school system, at one time having the three following Catholic schools in the area: 1.) St. Henry's - the Benedictine sisters opened a school in a section of the convent but when the enrollment increased, the former public school and a harness shop were utilized; enrollment there reached a peak of 269 pupils with 5-6 sisters teaching in subsequent years. 2.) St. Joseph - the Benedictine sisters began teaching in a district school (Ottertail County), three miles from Perham. (In 1885 St. Benedict's Convent built a large dwelling there intended to serve as a sisters' health resort; instead, it became the residence for the 5 sisters at St. Joseph's School. The dwelling was later sold for $1,100.) 3.) St. Stanislaus - in 1902, the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph's also staffed this small school but three years later it closed because only 38 students enrolled. However, the pastor reopened it seven years later and the Polish-speaking Felician sisters staffed it for another twenty years (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Some of the sisters teaching in Duluth before the separation of the Duluth sisters from St. Benedict's in St. Joseph are identified as follows. Top Row - left to right: S. Catherine Siefner, Clementine Jastrzenska, Florentine Cannon, Augustine Terhaar, Margaret Dellwo (Delleveaux); (Bottom Row - left to right): S. Bertha Cherrier, Regina Otto, Cornelia Berg, Anastasia Gerard, Magdalen Walker. Duluth was first settled because of a short-lived rumor in 1854 that copper and ore were found on the North Shore. It was not until 1869, when Duluth was connected to St. Paul by railroad, that the population began to grow. Though Duluth experienced a five-year set back in 1873 when Jay Cooke's (financier of the railroad-to-the-Pacific) financial empire collapsed, it became the ore capital and the grain and lumber harbor of the Northwest. Parish communities and schools began to flourish and the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, MN, responded to invitations to teach there: in 1881, five sisters from St. Joseph opened Sacred Heart School for over 200 children in an old carriage shop, but the pastor closed that school; in 1883, seven sisters returned to Sacred Heart Parish and taught in a public school building until a new school (St. Thomas Aquinas) was built; in 1885 sisters began teaching in St. Stanislaus School in the Polish parish, St. Mary Star of the Sea; in 1887 they opened St. Clement School and also the Store-Front School on Garfield Avenue for the French parish; in 1891 the sisters opened St. Anthony's School. All of these mission schools, as well as St. Mary's Hospital, were transferred to St. Benedict's new daughterhouse which was established in Duluth in 1892. Prompted by her deposition as prioress in St. Joseph, it was the energy and the independent pioneer spirit of Mother Scholastica Kerst that effected the separation of the sisters in Duluth from the motherhouse in St. Joseph. While only 20 of the 43 sisters in Duluth opted to join the newly-formed community, Villa Sancta Scholastica, the separation strained the resources of both communities. However, both rallied and flourished in Minnesota. The Benedictines in Duluth today conduct the College of St. Scholastica and a Benedictine Health Care System (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; Olsenius, pages 23-24).
St. John's University Photographic Studio, Collegeville, Minnesota
Date Created:
1886 - 1889
Description:
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909; St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Some of St. Benedict's Academy students in this sewing class are identified as follows: (at the sewing machines:) the Chester twins and Agnes Kalscha; (at the end of the table:) Christainson and Dorothy Hoesch. The academy catalogues of the 1880s included sewing, ornamental needlework and needle-point lace, and various handcrafts in vogue at the time, such as making wax fruit, muslim and wax flowers, and hair wreaths (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in North-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Eden Valley was platted in 1886 when the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Company laid their tracks through the area, Eden Valley developed rather rapidly. By 1901 three Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph went there to teach in temporary classrooms until the new parochial school was completed in 1902. Eventually the enrollment peaked at 310 with 8 sisters teaching at the Assumption School. Watkins The same year, the neighboring town of Watkins was platted along the same railroad. By 1907 the Catholic parish, St. Anthony's, in Watkins was large enough to build its own parochial school. The Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph were invited to teach there and the school soon realized an enrollment of 200 pupils. In subsequent years, the school developed to a peak of 321 students and for some years included high school classes (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Olsenius, page 137).
Because Sister Borgia was willing to take on any task asked of her, she responded to Dr. Page E. Stangl's (pathologist) request to help him set up a laboratory of animals for research. She called herself the zoo-keeper and worked with this project in her quiet, unassuming way for 39 years--first in crowded conditions among the offices on 6th floor of the hospital and then in the seclusion of the sub-basement.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1904
Description:
1904-1905 Twenty-Third Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, fees, regulations, course of studies, departments, textbooks, list of pupils, awards and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1907
Description:
1907-1908 Twenty-Sixth Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description, fees, wardrobe regulations, departments, course studies, list of pupils, programs and contents. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1908
Description:
1908-1909 Twenty-Seventh Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, fees, wardrobe regulations, course studies, departments, list of pupils, programs and contents. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1903
Description:
1903-1904 Twenty-Second Annual Catalogue was published for the academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, fees, wardrobe regulations, course of studies, departments, textbooks, religious societies and list of pupils. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1911
Description:
1911-1912 Twenty-Ninth Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, course of studies, departments, course fees and wardrobe regulations. Honors, programs, lectures, donations and list of students are provided. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915. Some pages are missing.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1905
Description:
1905-1906 Twenty-Fourth Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, fees, wardrobe regulations, course studies, list of textbooks, departments, testimonials, list of pupils and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1902
Description:
1902-1903 Twenty-First Annual Catalogue was published for the academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include course studies, textbooks, departments, list of pupils and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1907
Description:
1907-1908 Twenty-Fifth Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, fee, wardrobe regulations, course of studies, departments, list of pupils and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1909
Description:
1909-1910 Twenty-Eighth Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, fees, wardrobe regulations, course studies, departments, list of pupils, donations, programs and contents. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1901
Description:
1901-1902 Twentieth Annual Catalogue was published for the academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, course of studies, fees, regulations for wardrobe, religious societies, departments, list of pupils and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1893
Description:
1893-1894 Twelfth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, list of students and awards, list of textbooks and closing exercises.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1895
Description:
1894-1895 Thirteenth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, list of students and awards, daily program, list of textbooks and closing exercises.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1885
Description:
1884-1885 Third Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, references and commendations, course of studies, list of pupils, closing exercises and awards.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1891
Description:
1891-1892 Tenth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, clubs, lists of students and awards, and closing programs.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1887
Description:
1887-1888 Sixth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, references and commendations, course of studies, fees, wardrobe regulations, clubs, lists of students and awards.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1898
Description:
1897-1898 Sixteenth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, list of students, daily schedule, list of textbooks and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1888
Description:
1888-1889 Seventh Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, general rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, wardrobe regulations, clubs, lists of students and awards.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1898
Description:
1898-1899 Seventeenth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, course studies, list of textbooks, fees, regulations for wardrobe, special lectures, religious societies, literary societies, list of students and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1884
Description:
1883-1884 Second Annual Catalogue was published for St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, references and commendations, course of studies, list of pupils, closing exercises and awards.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1890
Description:
1890-1891 Ninth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, general rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, clubs, lists of students and awards, and closing exercises.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1900
Description:
1900-1901 Nineteenth Annual Catalogue was published for the academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, course of studies, fees, regulations for wardrobe, religious & literary societies, academic department, list of pupils, lectures and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1886
Description:
1885-1886 Fourth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of the institution, course of studies, fees, wardrobe regulations, lists of students and awards.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1896
Description:
1895-1896 Fourteenth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, list of students, daily schedule, list of textbooks and closing program.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1887
Description:
1886-1887 Fifth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of the institution, references and commendations, course of studies, fees, wardrobe regulations, clubs, lists of students, awards and closing program.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1897
Description:
1896-1897 Fifteenth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, list of students, daily schedule, list of textbooks and programs. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1892
Description:
1892-1893 Eleventh Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, general and wardrobe regulations, lists of students and awards, and closing exercises.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1889
Description:
1889-1890 Eighth Annual Catalogue was published for the Academy of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, general rules of discipline, course of studies, fees, special rules, wardrobe regulations, clubs, lists of students and awards.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1899
Description:
1899-1900 Eighteenth Annual Catalogue was published for the academy of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, course of studies, list of textbooks, fees, regulations for wardrobe, religious societies, list of students, programs and donors. Saint Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, known for a time as Bethlehem Boys Academy, operated concurrently with the Academy during the period from 1896-1915.
St. Benedict's Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1883
Description:
1883 Annual Catalogue was published for the St. Benedict's Academy in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of the institution, course of studies, lists of students, awards and closing program.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1932
Description:
The years between 1932-1938 are penciled in on the cover of St. Benedict's Academy Bulletin, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Separate calendars are inserted for years 1932-1933, 1933-1934, 1934-1935 and 1935-1936. Folder attached in the back for 1936-1937 and 1937-1938 includes fees and calendar. Contents of bulletin include description, location and communication, government, social life and history. Description of buildings lists St. Cecilia, St. Gertrude, St. Therese Hall, library and chapel. Campus and grounds, student organizations, general and wardrobe regulations, course requirements and offerings, expense rules and fees are also listed.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1928
Description:
1928-1929 Forty-Sixth Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Contents include calendar, location and communication and historical sketch. Description of buildings lists St. Cecilia, St. Gertrude and St. Therese Halls. Aims and scope, government, social life, campus and grounds, student organizations, general regulations, regulations for wardrobe, the academy, requirements for admission, reports and standings, academic courses, religion, graduating class of 1928, students, expenses for the scholastic year, extras, rules governing expenses are also included.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1929
Description:
1929-1930 is penciled in above 1928-1929 with the same contents printed. Forty-Sixth Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Contents include calendar for 1929-30 pasted over calendar for 1928-29, location and communication and historical sketch. Description of buildings lists St. Cecilia, St. Gertrude and St. Therese Halls. Aims and scope, government, social life, campus and grounds, student organizations, general regulations, regulations for wardrobe, the academy, requirements for admission, reports and standings, academic courses, religion, graduating class of 1928, students, expenses for the scholastic year, extras and rules governing expenses are also included.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1930
Description:
1930-1931, Forty-Seventh Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Contents include accreditation, calendar, location and communication, government and social life. Description of buildings lists St Cecilia, St. Gertrude and St. Therese Halls, library and chapel. Campus and grounds, student organizations, general regulations, regulations for wardrobe, requirements for admission, reports and standings, courses, rules governing expenses, expenses for the scholastic year and list of students are also listed.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1931
Description:
1931-1932 is penciled in above 1930-31 with same contents printed. Forty-Seventh Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Contents include accreditation, calendar for 1931-32 pasted over calendar for 1930-31, location and communication, government and social life. Description of buildings lists St Cecilia, St. Gertrude and St. Therese Halls, library and chapel. Campus and grounds, student organizations, general regulations, regulation for wardrobe, requirements for admission, reports and standings, courses, rules governing expenses, expenses for the scholastic year and list of students are also included.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1926
Description:
1926-1927 Forty-Fourth Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Contents include high school calendar, communication, aims and scope of the institution, government, social life, campus and grounds, buildings and furnishings, student organizations, general regulations and regulations for wardrobe, requirements for admission, reports and standings, courses, graduating class of 1926, list of students, expenses for the scholastic yea and rules governing expenses.
St. Benedict's Academy Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1927
Description:
1927-1928 Forty-fifth Year-book was published for St. Benedict's Academy, Preparatory to The College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In the years 1926-1938, the Academy and College each published their own catalogues. Contents include high school calendar, location and communication and historical sketch. Description of buildings lists St. Cecilia, St. Gertrude and St. Therese Halls. Aims and scope, government, social life, campus and grounds, student organizations, general regulations, regulations for wardrobe, requirements for admission, reports and standings, outline of academic courses, graduating class of 1927, high school students, expenses for the scholastic year and rules for governing expenses are also included.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1915
Description:
1915-1916 Thirty-third Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, reports and standings, departments, courses, roster of students and recitals.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1914
Description:
1914-1915 Thirty-second Annual Year-Book was published by St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, clubs, alumnae association, reports and standings. Departments, courses, recitals and programs, graduate photos, roster of students, regulations for wardrobe and fees are listed. Board and tuition, requisites and list of pupils for Boarding School For Little Boys are included.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1916
Description:
1916-1917 Thirty-fourth Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, description of railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, museum, reports and standings, degree requirements, departments, courses, programs, roster of students and regulations for wardrobe.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1913
Description:
1913-1914 Thirty-first Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, a boarding school for girls, St. Joseph, Minnesota. During the period of 1912-1926, a single catalogue included the Academy and College. Contents include description of railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, departments, reports and standings. Two Years' Course for High School Graduates with admission and entrance requirements are included. Collegiate course offerings, recitals and programs, commencement exercise, graduate photos, student roster, wardrobe regulations and fees are listed.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1912
Description:
1912 Thirtieth Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. During the period of 1912-1926, a single catalogue included the Academy and College. Contents include description of railway and telephone connections, institution and grounds, list of departments, reports and standings. It also included the Two Years' Course for High School Graduates with admission and entrance requirements, collegiate course, academic departments including elementary curriculum. Photos and names of graduates from various departments, programs, donations, list of pupils, fees, regulations for wardrobe are listed. Terms and requisites for St. Benedict's Boarding School For Little Boys, which operated concurrently with the Academy 1896-1915, are listed. Catalogue contains photos.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1925
Description:
1925-1926 Forty-Third Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, private rooms and dormitories, library and reading rooms, laboratories, museum, health and comfort, religious and social training, alumnae association, scholastic requirements, departments, courses, list of students, enrollment by states, regulations for wardrobe and terms for the scholastic year.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1924
Description:
1924-1925 Forty-Second Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, private rooms and dormitories, library and reading rooms, assembly hall, laboratories, museum, health and comfort, physical culture, religious training, social training, alumnae association, departments, courses, junior and senior colleges, regulations applying to all courses, reports and standings, high school religion, list of students, regulations for wardrobe and terms for the scholastic year.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1923
Description:
1923-1924 Forty-first Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, railway and telephone connections, grounds, private rooms and dormitories, library and reading rooms, assembly hall, laboratories, museum, health and comfort, religious training, social training, alumnae association, departments, courses, reports and standings, list of students, regulations for wardrobe and terms for the scholastic year.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1918
Description:
1918-1919 Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, description of railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, dormitories, library, reading rooms, laboratories, museum, alumnae association, reports and standings, courses, departments, list of students, regulations for wardrobe and fees.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1919
Description:
1919-1920 Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, fees, description of railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, dormitories, library, laboratories, museum, religious training, league of the sacred heart, social training, reports and standings, departments and courses, list of students, regulations for wardrobe and terms for the scholastic year.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1917
Description:
1917-1918 Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, description of institution, description of railway and telephone connections, description of grounds, dormitories, reading rooms, assembly hall and laboratories. Reports and standings, courses, departments, roster of students, regulations for wardrobe and fees are listed.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1921
Description:
1921-1922 Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include calendar, railway and telephone connections, buildings and grounds, dormitories, library and reading rooms, laboratories, museum, religious training, Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, social training, alumnae and student associations, reports and standings, departments and courses, readings and lectures, list of students, regulations for wardrobe, terms for scholastic year, general information and donations.
St. Benedict College and Academy; Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict
Date Created:
1922
Description:
1922-1923 Annual Year-Book was published for St. Benedict's College and Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota. Contents include description of institution, railway and telephone connections, private rooms and dormitories, library and reading rooms, laboratories, museum, health and comfort, religious training, social training, alumnae and student associations, departments and courses, reports and standings, list of students, regulations for wardrobe, general information and terms for scholastic year.
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Father Francis Pierz invited the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph to teach in Pierz where he and his parishioners had begun building a school in 1869. The school had not been completed by the time the sisters came in 1871, so they lived with some of the parishioners until the upstairs of the log school house was completed as the sisters' convent. The school on the first floor accommodated 100 pupils. For the sisters, this was a first experience of staffing a rural school and living at such a distance from the motherhouse. However, rural schools mushroomed quickly throughout the Northwest Territory. By 1910, the sisters staffed over 40 such schools outside St. Cloud and the Twin Cities area. Needless to say, the teachers endured many hardships in these rural areas. If they were lucky, equipment consisted of desks and a piece of blackboard. Attendance was variable and classrooms were overcrowded (sometimes 80 in one small room). At times there were no classrooms other than the church, the church basement or sacristy. Cold and hunger prevailed and the ever-present hostile controversy of public versus parochial schools affected school discipline. Salaries were sparse or even non-existent (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, pages 68-69).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1887, Sisters Clara Billig and Appolonia Jensen began teaching in this one-room parish/district school and convent in Buckman. A combination parochial-district school continued there without opposition for at least another 50 years (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
St. Benedict's Industrial School was established in 1884 when St. Benedict's Convent contracted with the U.S. government, through the Catholic Indian Bureau, for support of 30 girls from the White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Since St. Benedict's Convent had sent sisters to teach at the White Earth mission in 1878, recruitment contacts could easily be made. However, the parents were reluctant to have their daughters leave home and the children did not take to the rigors and formalities of institutional life and education. As a result of the resistance of the Ojibwe, most of the students who came from the reservation were of not fully native but of mixed white and Indian blood. Thus, the sisters inadvertently became a part of the suppressive system which disregarded the spirit and culture of the American Indians. "The federal government, aided by church-sponsored missionaries, marched steadily toward its goal of assimilation for Indians. The drive was particularly strong between the 1880s and the 1930s. Their aim was detribalization, individualization and 'Americanization' of the American Indian." (Berg, p. 159) In the boarding schools, students, taken from their homes, were given a new wardrobe, new language and a whole new way of life. It is not surprising that before the turn of the century the government rescinded the contract system. But it has taken almost another century and the experience of assimilating peoples of different cultures for the American people to begin to appreciate the enrichment that multicultural living can offer. (SBMA, McDonald, pages 120-122 and Sister Carol Berg, OSB, "Agents of Cultural Change: the Benedictines in White Earth," Minnesota History, winter 1982, page 159).
In 1887, two years after starting a hospital in Bismarck, North Dakota, St. John's Abbey gave the sisters the minor seminary which was part of the monks' St. Clement Priory building complex of church, rectory and school in Duluth. Encouraged by the success of their hospital in St. Cloud, the sisters converted the seminary to a hospital and named it St. Mary's Hospital (2nd building on the right ). The hospital was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Benedictine sisters in Duluth when they branched off from St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, MN, to form an independent convent in Duluth in 1892 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early years in St. Cloud (1857-1863). The upper floor of St. Mary's Church and School was renovated in 1858 to serve as the second convent for the Benedictine sisters. St. Mary's was the first Catholic parish in St. Cloud. It was organized in 1855 by Father Francis Xavier Pierz, the missionary who had lured Catholic Germans to America (specifically to Minnesota) in the early 1850s with promises of farming and wood lands, rivers, opportunity, and freedom. The year before the Benedictine sisters arrived at St. Mary's Parish, the pastor had opened a private school in a room in Joseph Edlebrock's house. His intention was to complete the section of the complex meant for the school and to have the sisters take charge. However, the parishioners, fearful of losing government support and desirous of managing their church and school, did not accept that arrangement. The sisters then started their own convent school and continued the lessons they had given while at Tenvoorde's house for children of any interested settlers. Twenty children enrolled the first days after the sisters opened St. Mary's School. Among the girls were: Mary Edelbrock, Lizzie Rosenberger, Catherine Felders, and Mary Brown. Among the boys were: Anton, Barney, and Joseph Edelbrock, Henry Rosenberrger, John Niebler, Joseph Reichert, and Louis Emmel. Among those who took private music lessons were: Jennie and Mary Mitchell, Mary and Jennie Cramsie, Sophia and Cecilia Corbett, and Nettie Swisshelm. (McDonald page37) Jane Swisshelm, the editor of the local newspaper wrote: "There is a school kept by a company of Benedictine nuns where is taught, in addition to the common branches, German, drawing, music, and needlework. The subjects are taught by ladies of polished manners and unusual proficiency. The school is in much favor with our citizens and is in a flourishing condition." (ST CLOUD VISITER, May 20,, June 24, 1858). The reputation of the sisters spread. In 1862, two sisters were invited to the nearby parish of Clinton (St. Joseph) where they taught in the district school. The following year, St. Joseph became the site of the motherhouse of the Benedictine sisters in Minnesota. When St. Mary's Parish built a new school in 1876, the sisters (having returned to St. Cloud in 1869) purchased the former convent/school complex and converted it to St. Agnes Academy. The sisters were hoping to alleviate the overcrowded conditions of the boarding school and sisters' quarters in nearby St. Joseph, where the enrollment of day students alone had reached over 200. The sisters teaching at St. Agnes Academy were pioneers in making a distinction between primary and secondary education in the area. Because this academy never flourished as a boarding school in St. Cloud, the sisters closed it in 1880 and opened St. Joseph's Academy in St. Joseph (McDonald, pages 7-16, 22-23, 36-39, 70-71, 120-123; Patricia Kelly Witte, pages 14-17).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). This "cathedral on the prairie," like so many other churches dotting the landscape of Stearns County (sometimes referred to as "Little Germany") was reminiscent of the churches in the Old World. St. Martin's Parish first built the rectory (1875) and eleven years later built this church. They did not build a parochial school at this time, but, like most other German communities, invited the Benedictine sisters in 1877 to teach in the district school at St. Martin. The ensuing conflict so rocked the small Catholic community that the sisters chose to withdraw in 1891. After a sixty-year lapse of time, the parish built a parochial school for 212 pupils and the Benedictine sisters returned to teach there. It is most unusual that, despite the turmoil of the early history of St. Martin, fourty-four young women from St. Martin's Parish joined the Benedictine community in St. Joseph (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). In the early 1860s, St. Joseph (Clinton) was a settlement of 80 families scattered on farms within a radius of 30 miles from the village, which was comprised of 5 homes and the church-school-rectory complex. The settlement flourished so that by 1869, St. Joseph could boast of 180 families. This staunch German Catholic community built a large Gothic style church (1871) and rectory (1874) from stones which the parishioners gathered from their fields. However, because they depended on the district schools, they did not build a parochial school at this time. In 1862, two sisters from the Benedictine community in St. Cloud were invited by the pastor to teach in the St. Joseph district school. After two years, the sisters experienced the same controversy about government support as they had in St. Cloud. In fact, the school board dismissed the sisters and gave H. L. Duerr a four-year teaching contract. This forced the sisters to seek other means of support by establishing an academy, orphanage, and industrial school. The sisters continued these projects even after they were re-employed as district school teachers at the completion of Duerr's contract in 1868. Besides teaching in the St. Joseph School District 9, others (Sisters Aurelia Bissen, Romana Widmer, and Gonzaga Kevenhoerster) taught in District 108 and three (Sisters Cecilia Kapsner, Hilaria Finske, and Vincentia Phiilipp) taught in District 1 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 57-60; Idelia Loso, pages 19-21, 36, 39-40).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). After a fire in April of 1886 destroyed the church and school complex that had housed the Industrial School, the sisters temporarily provided room and board in the convent. Immediately, the construction of Marmion Hall, the new Industrial School, was begun between the St. Joseph Church and St. Benedict's Convent/Academy. It was ready for the fall term of 1886 for girls from White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Because of the new quarters and the inspector's good report of the St. Benedict's Industrial School, the Indian Commissioner subsequently expanded the contract permitting the sisters to take any number of pupils and to draw them from any Indian reservation. However, even though the enrollment in the school increased to 100, only 25 were paid for by the government (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). After the closing of the Industrial School, the west end of Marmion Hall (porch added on) accommodated the boarding school for little boys (age 6-12) as a department of St. Benedict's Academy. It was often referred to as "Bethlehem School for Boys." There were 7 students the first year and as the enrollment increased, the maximum number of boys housed per year was set at 36. A total of 715 boys attended during the next 40 years of the school's existence at St. Benedict's. In 1938, it was transferred to Altoona, Wisconsin (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
As early as 1878 while prospecting for a site to establish a college for men in the Dakota Territory, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, OSB, became aware of the need for a hospital in the still undeveloped area of Mandan and Bismarck. In 1885 he bought the Lamborn Hotel in Bismarck and succeeded in interesting Mother Scholastica Kerst in converting it to a hospital. It was a challenge to change the settlers' prejudice against hospitals as institutions for the wayward and shiftless. However, after five years and with the expertise of Dr. E. pageQuaine in surgery and Sister Boniface Timmers, OSB, in administration, the hospital gained favor and grew from a primitive institution to one of the finest hospitals in the land. With the help of a donation from St. John's Abbey, the Benedictine sisters were able to repay the abbey for the debt incurred by the original purchase and they named the hospital St. Alexius. By 1913, they were able to build a new hospital and to organize a school of nursing there (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 126-137).
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). Students in Sister Stephen Schaaf's class of 1892 have been identified as follows: Top row: (Sister Stephen Schaaf), Anna Krahl, Bertha Walz, Christ Walz, George Warnert, Mike Nierengarten, Casper Benning, Frank Rau, Leroy Baloh, Mike Ziegelmeier; 2nd row: Teresa Walz, Lizzie Neis, Molly Roeder, Rose Orth, Anna Walz, Johanna Rau, Mary Mae Schloemer, ___ Burgmeier, Mary Notsch; 1st row: Frank Katzner, Joe Reber, Anton Walz, Joseph Meyer, Pius Ziegelmeier (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
These five sisters and four lay nurses formed the first group to be trained by Ms. Wilma Johnson, a superintendent of nurses from Chicago engaged by the School of Nursing. Fom left to right seated: Sisters Julitta Hoope, Leobina Gliszhenski, Standing: Sisters Natalia Schmidtbauer, Cunigund Kuefler, Salome Amschler (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, page 258).
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). Some of the students in Sister Philothea Valerius' class (c. 1890s) have been identified as follows. Front row left to right: 1. Mary Kotschever, 2. Mary Meyer, 3. Johanna Rau, 5. Bertha Kroll, 6. Mary Lauermann, 7. Bertha Horsch, 8. Monica Ablen, 9. Mary Becker, 10. Mary Schloemer, 11. Bertha Schloemer, 13. Burgmeier, 14. Rose Orth. Second row: 2. Joseph Meyer, 3. Math Bohmer, 4. Michael Meyer, 5. John Reber, 8. Henry Nierengarten (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). As early as 1875, the sisters had begun to care for orphans in an informal way, but in 1884 the orphanage was incorporated under the laws of the State. Overcrowded conditions forced the sisters to transfer them from St. Cloud to St. Joseph and back again until it was decided to move the girls to the sisters' quarters in Pierz, Minnesota, and the boys were moved back to the old log church and school in St. Joseph. When the fire of 1886 destroyed the orphan home in St. Joseph, the sisters made room for the 23 orphan boys in other buildings on the premises. Finally, at the request of Bishop Otto Zardetti in 1893, the orphans were given to the care of the newly-founded community of Sisters of St. Francis in Little Falls. The Sisters at St. Benedict's, however, retained the familial atmosphere effected by the presence of the orphan children by opening the Bethlehem School for Little Boys as a department of St. Benedict's Academy; little girls,"minims," were housed with the academy students (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 122-123).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909); St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. The students and teachers have been identified as follows. Standing left to right: Kitten Marshall, Margaret Sanz, Bertha Fisher, Adelaide Stumpf, Pauline Roesaler, Augusta Kenek, Catherine Paulissen, Pauline Wieland, Alta Letson, Emma Engesser, Gertrude Wiemann, Eleonore Carmon, Anna Kepper, Nellie Marshall, Minnie Fehrenbacher, Clara Otto, Sister Josephine McLean. Sitting: .Sister Ulric Beck, Lizzie Zapp, Edith Cowing, Nan Marshall, Margaret Claesgens, Margaret Geissel, Josephine Hafner, Anna Alzheimer. Music has always been an important part of the sisters' religious and professional lives. Wherever the sisters opened schools, a music teacher was provided for music instructions in the classrooms and in private lessons; the academy was no exception. Besides the Choral Group, courses were offered in playing the piano, organ, harp, guitar, and zither. For the regular courses and board and room, students paid $80.00 a term. Extra fees ranging from $5.00 to $25,00 were charged for instructions in such courses as music and art; materials were purchased by the students. Records show that some of these accounts were paid in produce: cows, meat, or grain. Because the convent's schedule and discipline, though adapted, prevailed in the boarding school as well, students were given daily charges. These charges, such as cleaning the chimneys of the lamps, starting the fires and keeping them going in the chapel, study hall, dormitories, classrooms and the infirmary, were considered as part of their payment for room and board (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 104-105).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). Mother Cecilia (Mary) Kapsner born in Prussia in 1859, came to America at age 15 with her family who settled in Pierz. Two years later, Mary entered St. Benedict's Convent and professed vows in 1878. In 1901 she was elected to serve as prioress, a position she held for three consecutive terms. Mother Cecilia was the first prioress whose background was similar to the majority of the members of St. Benedict's Convent as well as the people in the St. Joseph area. With keen perception and ready judgment she led the community through considerable building expansion. Especially noteworthy is the construction of the Sacred Heart Chapel and the Teresa Hall addition to the college, both having been in the planning stages as early as 1909 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Melrose was settled at a ford in the river on the stagecoach trail between the Red River Valley and St. Cloud. It got its spurt of growth in 1871 as the terminus of the west-bound railroad, making it a marketing center. Melrose (named after Melissa Rose, the daughter of one of the early settlers) soon developed into a strong Catholic community eager to establish its own parish. In 1880, St. Boniface School (parish/district) was built and the Benedictine sisters responded to the pastor's invitation to teach there. By 1894, four sisters were teaching 170 pupils, despite the fact that at first they suffered from the usual prejudice of German communities regarding public versus parochial schools. In subsequent years, the enrollment peaked at 325 pupils even though the Irish parishioners established their own grade/high school and enrolled as many as 166 pupils. When St. Boniface and St. Patrick parishes merged in 1958, the parish and school were renamed St. Mary's School which reached a peak enrollment of 481 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). The Ojibwe accepted their missionaries, "blackrobes," as they called them. Sister Philomene Ketten, always in the midst of action, is standing among the women near the center tree in this photograph. [SBMA]
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). Students and faculty of the first academy class in the Haarman Building (1880-1881) are identified as follows. Faculty upper row: Sisters 1. Flavia Pokowsky, 2. Magdelen Enste, 3. Elizabeth Will (who later became Sister Julia), 4. Bede Linnemann. Faculty - 2nd row: Sister Anotolia Langsford. Faculty - 3rd row: Sister Irminia Kretzer. Students - 2nd row: Anna Burrell, Cecilia Beck, S. Farrell, Katie Rovischer, Emma Otto, Aggie Zingerly, Rose Weiner, Carrie Capser, Iona Owens, Lilly Miller, Katherine Riesgraf, Anna Kapsner. Students - lower 3 rows: Antonette Jennings, Virgina Gerard (later Sister Anastasia), Lena Schlick, Anna Waschenberger, Mary Phillip, Ella Egan, Jennie Kennedy, Katie Loso, Aloysia Zingerly, Adela Jennings, Clara Pottgieser, Lorrina Maurin, Tillie Maurin, Lizzie Beck, Josie Kapser. Because St. Agnes Academy was not flourishing in St. Cloud, Mother Aloysia Bath and the community decided in 1879 to build a new boarding academy at St. Joseph. When the basement walls were nearly completed, the cold weather halted construction; lack of funds prevented more building for another 2 years. The next prioress, Mother Scholastica Kerst, closed the St. Agnes Academy in St. Cloud and rented the Haarman Building across from the church and convent in St. Joseph to open a select boarding academy, St. Joseph's Academy. The Haarman Building was rented for only one year. Because the school was so successful, the earlier plans for a new academy building were immediately resumed and Cecilia Hall was rapidly completed for use in 1882. When the building was blessed, St. Joseph's Academy was renamed St. Benedict's Academy (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, pages 70-71, 99-100).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). About half of the student body of the academy in 1882-1883 (those in the photograph wearing medals) were prospective candidates applying for membership in the Benedictine community. Some members of this class who became sisters are identified as follows: Top row: 3. Susan (Sister Rose) Kilduff, 5. Josephine (Sister Adalberta) Gerard. Second row: 2. Margaret (Sister Eleanor) Irving. Fourth row: 1. Mary (Sister Felicitas) Knapp, 2. Margaret (Sister Ethelburga ) Farrell. Second from bottom row seated on steps: 3. Sophia (S. Ehrentrude) Wessel, 4. Mary Magdalen (S. Ursula) Hoffmann. Bottom row seated on steps: 2. Emily (Sister) Cherrier, 3. Bridget (Sister Magdalen) Walker (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). Some of the class of 1886-87 have been identified as left to right: 1. Pauline Roesler, 2. Edith Cowing, 3. Julia Kinck, 4. Lizzie Zapp, 5. Margaret Kerst, 6. Alta Letson, 7. Christina Schultz. Standing: 1. Sang, 2. Hammond, 3. Wright, 4. Irene Reed, 5. Sister Amata Macket, 6. Mary Rhodes, 7. Lizzie Wagner, 8. Amme Maurin, 9. Nellie Schultz, 10. L. Mutschleckner, 13. Cecilia Northman, 16. Sara Mercer, 17. Nellie McCabe. The academy was geared toward a liberal arts education. While there was no thought of training girls for a career, the intellectual, aesthetic, and moral training did include the practical. The home arts of cooking and baking were considered important in the training of young ladies (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, page 102).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1873, Mother Antonia Herman, OSB, arranged to have the Sisters of St. Benedict purchase 10 acres near the church in Pierz intending to begin an independent Benedictine community there. When the new community did not materialize, the building was used for some years as an orphanage for girls because the convents in St. Joseph and St. Cloud were no longer able to house all 63 orphans (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909); St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Academy class of 1883-1884, front row sitting left to right: Neville Ensor, Mary Schwartz, Elizabeth Spies, Tillie Keppers, Barbara Venne, Margaret Sanz, Ursula Glatzmeier, Anna Herron, Bertha Linnemann, Carrie Smith, Alta Letson, Frances Pfannenstein, Lena Bernick, Mary Rhodes, Lucretia Mutschlechner. Second row sitting: Rose Black, Mary Merten, Anna Brockmann, Theresa Schreiner, Margaret Klein, Stella LaComb, Margaret Kerst, Josephine Friend, Anna Wagner; (Third row sitting): Anna Kahl, Laura Bosworth, Margaret Lauermann, Magdalen Theisen, Barbara Eich; (First row standing): Eliza Darbelly, Louisa Maurin, Sister Alexia Kerst, Mary Roach, Clara Otto, Mary Kennedy; (Second row standing - next to building): Johanna Madigan, Mary Brockmann, Jennie McLean, Sister Bonaventure Kapsner, Margaret Claesgens, Margaret Farrell, Sarah Farrell, Louise Wall, Mattie Bosworth, Josie Smith, Mary Zimmer, Sarah Kelly, Lavina Huber, Sister Pius Roche, Sister Celestine Marschall, Josie Gerard, Mary Hoffmann. While the sisters rejoiced at the increasing enrollment, they were concerned about maintaining a small enough number to assure a homey atmosphere and a community spirit. In the early 1880s, because many of the students were of grade-school age, there was a built-in family atmosphere in the academy. Gradually, however, the academy drew students of high school age and older; by 1909, the academy was ready to consider offering college classes (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Orgins of St. Benedict's Monastery (convent). Mother Benedicta (Sybilla) Riepp was born in Waal, Bavaria in 1825. Having entered St. Walburg Convent in Bavaria, she made her profession of vows there at the age of 21. Six years later, she was one of the first volunteers to go to America to teach the children of the German immigrants. She was appointed the superior of that first group and is, therefore, regarded as the foundress of the Bavarian branch of Benedictine Sisters in America. Though of slight and delicate build and barely able to meet the challenges of frontier life in Pennsylvania, Mother Benedicta was strong in her determination to follow the German immigrants to the farther mid-western frontier which later became the state of Minnesota. Her legacy to the American foundations was her steadfast effort to achieve autonomy for her sisters in America. Because he took responsibility for the sisters' coming to the New World, Abbot Boniface Wimmer, OSB, felt he had jurisdiction over them and often determined internal affairs of the convents, including accepting candidates and appointing superiors. Mother Benedicta returned to Europe to have their cause for autonomy presented to Rome. Eventually her efforts succeeded, but broken in health, she returned to America--to St. Cloud, Minnesota--where she died of tuberculosis at the age of 33. She is buried in the cemetery at St. Benedict's Monastery, St. Joseph. General translation of Mother Benedicta's vow formula at St. Walburg Convent, Bavaria: I, Sister Maria Ana Benedicta, promise before God and his Saints, Stability, and Conversion of my morals, Obedience, Poverty and Chastity according to the Rule of Saint Benedict and the Statutes of this Monastery, which was constructed in honor of Saint Walburga, Virgin, in the presence of Reverend Mother (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 8, 14-19, 49).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (January 7, 1913). The steel supports of the dome were even more intricate than those for the roof. It included supports for eight stained glass windows. The smaller circular support to the left was for a stain-glass window above the main altar apse. Here, the Kilmer family's donation of the "Holy Spirit" stained glass, circular window was installed in 1935.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (April 14, 1913). The dome, the link between the chapel to the convent, and the south cloister walk connecting the chapel to Teresa Hall were constructed simultaneously. This photo is taken from the roof of Teresa Hall and gives a clear view of the circular cloister walk that surrounds the chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 10, 1912). Within a month of the laying of the foundation, the walls of the lower level of the chapel were raised. This view from the northeast shows some of the farm buildings at the left of the water tower that still needed to be razed or moved farther west.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery, (December 9, 1912). The supports for the roof were inserted into the inner walls of the chapel. Of special note is the huge circular support for the dome on the left of the photograph.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 24, 1912). Pouring the concrete ceiling of the first level of the chapel created the floor of the new chapel and prepared for the next step of erecting the walls on the second level (which is the main chapel). The two buildings in the center background are the power house and laundry (Loretto Hall). They remained in place for another seventy years and served multiple purposes.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (November 11, 1912). With the inner walls of the chapel nearly completed, this view from the roof of Teresa Hall shows the size of the chapel proper.
Laying of the Sacred Heart Chapel's cornerstone in October, 1912. Bishop James Trobec and celebrants bless the cornerstone. The cow barn, seen in close proximity to the chapel, was moved farther west 35 years later in 1958 along with the entire farm area.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel and Teresa Hall, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 17, 1912). Teresa Hall, the addition to the college, was constructed simultaneously with the chapel. Because it was located less that 100 feet from the site of the chapel, the same type of construction work could take place in both sites. However, because it was architecturally less complicated, the work on Teresa Hall progressed much more rapidly as can be noted in this photo where the walls of five levels have been completed while only the first level walls of the chapel were completed during the same period of time.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 14, 1912). The final contract for construction was made with the Butler Brothers from St. Paul.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (May 21, 1912). The outline of the foundation in this photo shows the extent of this new chapel. The extreme length of the chapel is 157 feet; the width of the nave 60 feet; the transept 110 feet. This view from the west also shows the proximity to Marmion Hall (upper right) and the infirmary (upper left).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery, St. Joseph, Minnesota (May 5, 1913). The closed-in porch link on the first and second level and the open porch of the third level (roof of link) made the chapel an integral part of the convent.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (November 18, 1912). Three separate scaffoldings of varying heights were necessary to hoist materials for the completion of the three levels of Sacred Heart Chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 21, 1912). The curvature of the outer walls provided a circular "cloister walk" around the chapel proper and around the sacristies in the foreground.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (July 23, 1912). With the completion of the pouring of the concrete for the floor of the chapel, steam-powered pulley towers were built for lifting building materials to the next levels, an ingenious labor-saving in this early period.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (December 16, 1912). An intricate maze of support was necessary to support the roof of such a large building as the chapel. The supports allowed ample room under the roof for a "crawl space" for maintenance work.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (April 21, 1913). This close-up view of construction on the dome gives some insights into the dangers of working at such heights on an open scaffolding.
Preparing the cornerstone of the Sacred Heart Chapel in October 1912. With the completion of the chapel floor, the Butler Brothers construction crew prepared for the laying of the cornerstone in the area that would place it in the wall near the north side altar. The cornerstone has remained in the same position since 1912 and can be seen in today's chapel to the left of the baptismal font as you enter the great doors from the Gathering Place. On it is engraved: "AD" and "MCMXII" and a cross.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 28, 1912). One week after the steel girders for the inner walls were installed, the steel supports for the stained glass windows were in place.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 21, 1912). An enclosed cloister walk was constructed to connect the second level of the south side of the chapel to the second level of Teresa Hall at the college. An enclosed cloister walk connecting the second level of the north side of the chapel to Marmion Hall (formation house) was also in the plans. Because later photographs show this south court area without a cloister walk, it may be assumed that the construction workers had to remove the cloister walk shown in progress in this photograph, probably to give more space for the ensuing construction work. However, photographs of early 1914 show that the enlosed north and south cloister walks were added to the chapel immediately upon the completion of the chapel.
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). Soon after Mother Antonia (Margarethe) Hermann was born in Baden, Germany, her family immigrated to America. In 1857, Margarethe joined the Benedictine Convent in Erie, Pennsylvania. Four years later, 1861, she was sent to found a new convent in Chicago and was appointed prioress there in 1862. In 1868 Abbot Rupert Seidenbusch, without consulting the sisters in St. Joseph, brought Mother Antonia to St. Benedict's Convent and appointed her as prioress of that community. However, after the completion of her first term as prioress, she was elected by the community in St. Joseph for a second term. Mother Antonia, an able leader, helped the community face the challenges of the early years in St. Joseph. She introduced record and bookkeeping practices which are included in the community's archival collection. Mother Antonia lost the favor of Abbot Alexius Edelbrock when she negotiated to have the sisters discontinue doing the laundry and sewing for the monks at St. John's Abbey. She chose to resign as prioress and returned to her former community in Chicago. Later, she transferred to the Benedictine community in Yankton, SD, where she volunteered her services in the Dakota missions (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 65-73).