Besides fostering the mission of education, especially the academy, in which the sisters of St. Benedict's Convent were engaged by 1880, Mother Scholastica Kerst is best known for fearlessly launching the community into the new field of health care. Under her leadership, St. Benedict's Convent flourished as did the hospitals in Bismarck, Duluth and St. Cloud. During her administration of nine years, the membership of the community increased from 57 to 164; the number of parochial schools staffed by the sisters had grown from 10 to 28; the orphanages, schools and hospitals became monuments of her enterprise and executive ability. Mother Scholastica had the spirit of the American frontier in her blood. Mother Scholastica (Catherine) Kerst was born in Prussia in 1847 and came to St. Paul, MN, with her parents in her infancy. She entered St. Gertrude's Convent, Shakopee, MN, in 1862, two days after its establishment. Bishop Thomas Grace, O.P., of St. Paul, required that she spend some of her formation period at St. Gertrude's founding motherhouse in St. Marys, PA. This experience in a well-established, older convent and her own flair for leadership and good business, gave her the impetus to request permission to establish a convent in St. Paul with four other sisters. Instead, church authorities advised her to transfer to St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, MN, which she did in 1877. Three years later Abbot Alexius Edelbrock appointed her prioress of St. Benedict's Convent. [Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, ppage93-95]
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). Sister Dominica Borgerding was appointed the directress of the academy in 1909. When the college was established in 1913, she served as directress for both the academy and the college until 1918. Hers was an ample, progressive, hearty soul. Weeping girls were swept to her bosom, given a huge apple, and made to feel that all was right with the world. She is best known for her amazing gift for dramatics (Gable, OSB).
Fifteen women, all in nurses' uniforms, sit/stand around Sister Thecla Reid, who established the School of Nursing at St. Mary's Hospital. Three women were in the first graduating class in 1903. The school of nursing opened about 1900.
Cabinet photograph of three prominent Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in full habit. Sister Seraphine Ireland was the director of the St. Paul Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet from 1882-1921. She was responsible for the establishment of numerous schools and hospitals in urban and rural areas of Minnesota and North Dakota. Sister St. John Ireland was responsible for the establishment of Holy Angels Academy from 1877-1897. Sister Celestine Howard, a cousin of the Irelands, was supervisor of schools established by Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet; she later (1884) established St. Agatha's Conservatory of Art and Music. This unique school offered classes in various branches of art and music, as well as in dramatics. It closed in 1969. The Irelands were sisters of John Ireland, the first archbishop of St. Paul.
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). The Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, who were teaching in Moorhead in 1883, are identified as follows (left to right): Sisters Paula Bechtold, Alphonsa O'Donnell, Euphrasia Hirtenberger (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
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).
Young women were recruited from Ireland and Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s to join the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. (Some considered this increase in membership an unnatural growth.) By the turn of the century there were 428 Sisters of St. Joseph in the St. Paul Province to help administer and staff the schools and hospitals in the care of the community. Pictured here, according to note attached to photograph, back row (left to right): Sisters Matthew, Cuthberta, Peter, Blanda. Middle row (left to right) Sisters Oswina, Odelia, Jarleth, Illirius, Salome, Candida, Placidia, Pius. Front row (left to right) Sisters Honorata, Michael, Celsus, Lucy, St. Kevin, Victor, Erma.
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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.
An 1878 photograph of Sister Scholastica Kerst in the St. Benedict's convent habit. Catherine (Sister, later Mother Scholastica) Kerst (1847-1911) was born in Meuringen, Prussia, and came to St. Paul, MN, in 1852 with her parents. She entered the Benedictine community of St. Gertrude in Shakopee, MN, in 1862 and in 1877 transferred to St. Benedict's Convent in St. Joseph, MN. She was prioress there from 1880-1889. In 1892, she led the foundation of what is now St. Scholastica Monastery and was prioress there until her death in 1911.
Sister Antonia McHugh had experience at three educational levels: elementary, secondary, and college. She was among the first faculty appointed to Derham Hall / College of St. Catherine in 1905. From 1914-1917 she served as the first dean of the college; from 1917-1937 she served as the first president of the college. Her work brought national and international recognition of the scholastic curriculum and faculty at the college.
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).
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).
As early as 1923, there are records showing that Sisters were involved with bee culture. Left to right are Sister Annina Zierden, Sister Juliana Venne, Sister Crescentia Eich and Sister Amalia Eich.
Before construction began on the Kenwood site, Duluth Benedictine sisters enjoyed outings to the farm. The young women in black dresses and veiled bonnets are postulants.
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). The carriage used by the sisters around 1900 was very likely the vehicle that met students and candidates at the St. Joseph train depot. It had first belonged to the administrator of the St. Cloud Diocese and is still preserved in St. Benedict's Monastery Museum (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
The Board of lay advisors includes (left to right:) Mother Rosamond Pratschner, Mrs. Rose Reilly, Ed Callahan, Dr. Joseph B. Gaida, Sister Claire Lynch, Joseph Matt, Dr. R. N. Jones, Francis Gross and Mrs. Robert Burns. It advised that the college to develop a 100-year plan which initiated the concept of a CSB building program.
Four students are shown sitting on the front steps of Derham Hall with an unidentified Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Another student and Sister are visible on a sidewalk on the north lawn of campus.
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1886, St. Benedict's Convent built a small residence for sisters teaching at St. Mary's School in St. Augusta and by 1903, it required an addition. Fifty years later the parish voted to change the district school to a parochial school, but it took another 10 years before a new parochial school was built. Sisters still serve in the St. Mary's School and parish, having given this settlement over 120 years of service (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
1914 procession in the sisters' cemetery at Villa Sancta Scholastica. On the feast of Corpus Christi (the Thursday following Trinity Sunday) the faculty and students of Villa Sancta Scholastica went in procession to the outdoor chapel in the sisters' cemetery. Here, the elementary school students in their First Communion dresses, carrying baskets of flowers are followed by the sisters and finally the chaplain with his altar boy assistants.
Sister Rose Tillemans (left), founder of Peace House (a drop-in community for street people); joins Peace House guests to provide entertainment at a party.
A group of Duluth Benedictine sisters enjoy a picnic outing in 1900 while inspecting work on St. Anthony's Hospital in Bemidji. Left to right, unidentified sister with picnic basket, Sister Benedict Mlynek, Mother Scholastica Kerst in hammock, Sister Christina Johnson with key, Sister Alexia Kerst . The dog is a local visitor.
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909). The twenty-five eighth grade graduates of St. Mary's School, St. Cloud, MN, in 1909 are identified as follows: (Top row): Martha Franke, Hyacinth Libert, Eleanor Hall, Olivia Peffer, Victoria Majerus, Veronica Heitzmann, Isabelle Kuck, Mary Zierden, Sybilla Dietrich; (Middle row): Leo Schmidt, Carl Rosenberger, John Hiemenz, Walter Schmidt, Anthony Hunstiger, Floyd McConnell, Leo Heinen, Gretsch, Bernard Schepers; (Bottom row): Appolonia Huf, Rose Danzl, Mary Nickols, Alma Bernauer, Father Alfred Mayer, O.S.B., Hilda Wampach, Hilda Knopp, Magdalen Braun, Sister Chrysostom Sanz, O.S.B. (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Frank Karn transferred from employment from Saint Benedict's Convent to St. Cloud Hospital when it opened in 1928 and stayed on for 45 years. He was a registered engineer.
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909). The sister-faculty of Holy Angels Grade School in St. Cloud at the turn of the century are identified as follows: (seated left to right): Sisters Ignatia Huntsinger, Eleanor Irving, Ursula Hoffmann, Pauline Heller, Sybilla Vogel; (standing): Sisters Edwina Noessen, Basilia Cosgrove, Sophia Zimmer, Louise Walz. The parish records of the monthly tuition payments for the year 1897-98 list the following number of pupils for each teacher: (listed by room number; the word "grade" is not used; at first there were simply the upper and lower levels): Room 1, Sister Sybilla Vogel, 122; Room 2, Sister Pauline Heller, 78; Room 3, Sister Bonaventure Theisen, 77; Room 4, Sister Sophia Zimmer, 73; Room 5, Sister Louise Walz, 65; Room 6, Sister Eleanor Irving, 58; Room 7, Sister Ursula Hoffmann, 31; Room 8 (George Stelzle), 33. Judging by this record of the size of classes, one can surmise that the lower-level classes had half-day sessions and that in those early years, less than half of the students went beyond a sixth grade education (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, page 116; Voigt, page 39).
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909).The sister-faculty of St. Mary's Parochial School in 1900 are identified as follows: (seated from left to right): Sisters Chrysostom Sanz, Wilhelmina Kahl, Cornelia Berg, Raymond Otto, Dionysia Meinhardt; (Standing): Sisters Carmel Fruth, Cleta Kurth, Evarista Stenzenberger, Loyola Kapsner, Rosebia Sieverding. The following summarizes the background of the sisters' presence in St. Mary's Parish, St. Cloud, MN: 1. Although the sisters left St. Cloud in 1863 because of the public versus parochial school controversy, it is not surprising that they accepted the invitation in 1869 to return to St. Mary's Parish which had been their first home when they came to Minnesota in 1857. This time they were specifically invited to teach in the District/Independent School which was located in the former St. Mary's Church adjacent to the convent. This school served as the parochial school for the growing St. Mary's Parish, but it was becoming inadequate. 2. When in 1875 the state legislature endorsed the concept that both the "District" and "Independent" Schools would be supported by local taxation, influential citizens spearheaded the building of a district school near St. Mary's Church. This new school continued its unique position as the district/parochial school and employed some sisters as teachers; the sisters also continued teaching in the original school adjacent to the convent--it became known as the "sisters' school." 3. However, despite the 1875 legislation, school conflicts continued to rage. So the sisters decided to withdraw from their teaching positions in the district school and put all of their energies into the convent school. Because of the rapid growth of the parish, the sisters could not accommodate all the children who wished to attend the convent school. It was at that point (1886-1887) that St. Mary's parishioners, after 25 years of conflict, built their first real parochial school ([Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives Witte, pages 77-78).
In 1892, the first ceremonies were held accepting new members into the Duluth Benedictine community. Back row, reception of novices, left to right, back row: Sister Benedict Mlynek, Sister Margaret Mary Borsch, Sister James Roche. Front row, Sister Leonissa Sauber, perpetual vows, Sister Jeremia Cannon, first vows.
Early years in St. Cloud (1857-1863). In 1863 when the number of sisters in St. Cloud had increased to fourteen, they began to look for a more congenial environment. Seven of the sisters responded to an invitation to establish a Benedictine convent in Atchison, KS. Five of these founders of the Atchison group are identified on the photograph, taken in 1888, as follows: (seated:) Sisters Gertrude Kapser, Evangelista Kremeter, Gregoria Moser; (Standing:) Sisters Armanda Meier, Boniface Bantle;.The remaining sisters in St. Cloud chose to move to nearby Clinton (St. Joseph), a flourishing German community, where three of the sisters had already established a mission and two were teaching in the district school there. The main reasons for seeking a more congenial environment was the controversy of public versus parochial schools. The sisters were caught between the American bishops'/pastors' ideal of establishing a parochial school system and the parishioners' resistance to supporting two school systems. The parishioners also resisted the loss of the kind of control over their parishes and schools that they were accustomed to having in Germany. Besides the school controversy, there was the undeniable fact that the sisters needed time to adjust to their new environment. They had not yet mastered the English language or the school discipline needed in America so different from that of their girls' boarding school in Bavaria. Also some citizens viewed the sisters' appearance in religious dress and teaching religion in the district school as violations of the American ideal of separation of church and state (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 53-55; Terry Jaakkola and Julia Lambert Frericks, Shadows Illuminated, pages75-79).
Eight Benedictine Sisters in rounded habits stand in front of a Queen Anne-style convent. They are all facing the same direction, but their gaze is cast slightly downwards. They are all holding their rosaries. The house has 10 steps leading from street level to porch. There are lace curtains in the window. A tall industrial building looms in the background. They were once presumed to be sisters of Notre Dame.
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). The academic dean, registrar, heads of departments and other faculty members advise students concerning their courses, academic progress and future plans. (Gable, OSB; Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). In the early years, an academy was geared to primary school education and only gradually developed into a secondary school. This photo shows the wide age-range of students attending St. Benedict's Academy before the 1900s. This range of ages may account for the family (community) spirit that developed in the school. It was customary to refer to the younger girls as "minims." The prefect with this group is Sister Ernesta Kranz; the child in the sailor suit is identified as Alice O'Niel (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). Mother Aloysia (Helen) Bath, the first American-born prioress of St. Benedict's Convent, was born in Addison, WI in 1849. Helen entered the community of the Sisters of St. Agnes in Baron, WI, in 1864 and was given the name Sister Agatha. She transferred to the community in St. Joseph, MN in 1871, changed her name to Aloysia, and professed vows there in 1875. Two years later, she was appointed prioress of the community in St. Joseph by Abbot Rupert Seidenbusch, to fill out Mother Antonia Herman's term. Mother Aloysia resigned shortly before her term ended. However, nine years later, she was elected by the community to serve another term as prioress. Though of frail health, Mother Aloysia led the community in beginning the construction of a new convent and academy building in St. Joseph, in accepting four new schools in Minnesota, the American Indian mission in White Earth, MN, and a school in Bismarck. ND. She was an experienced teacher who had been in charge of several schools, including the large school in St. Joseph's Parish in Minneapolis. Mother Aloysia's greatest efforts were spent staffing schools in the face of school controversies and in developing a teacher-training program in the community so that young sisters would be sent out as certified teachers. Her contemplative spirit inspired the sisters to work for a balance in their work and prayer (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 73-78, 89).
Orgins of St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Mother Willibalda Scherbauer, OSB, led four sisters and two candidates, ranging in age from 18 to 26, from St. Marys, Pennslyvania, to the Midwest frontier (St. Cloud, Minnesota) in 1857. Mother Willibalda (Franciska) was born in Kastel, Bavaria in 1831. At an early age, her family took her to St. Walburg Convent in Eichstätt to be educated. There she professed her vows in 1851; four years later, she volunteered to join the sisters in America. Then in 1857, she volunteered to venture to the Northwest Territory and was appointed prioress of the St. Cloud community by Boniface Wimmer, OSB. Mother Willibalda was an accomplished musician of whom Jane Swisshelm, editor of a local newspaper, wrote, "The Lady Abbess is small, slight, delicate, graceful, and as accomplished a lady as you could meet in any circle...waking the first echoes of those broad prairies in a call (daily ringing of the church bell) to bow regularly at an altar of Christian worship..." (McDonald, page41). Mother Willibalda's able administration as leader gave the Benedictine sisters a firm monastic foundation, not only in St. Cloud, but also in St. Joseph, the nucleus of St. Benedict's Monastery. She is lovingly remembered for accepting Mother Benedicta Riepp into the St. Cloud community when she was misunderstood by authorities and some community members for upholding the rights of the sisters in America (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 12, 15-16, 19).
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). In 1877, the sisters of St. Gertrude's Convent in Shakopee* were asked to care for orphan children in temporary quarters on Ninth and Robert Streets in St. Paul. Sisters Benedicta Klein and Agatha Nachbar assumed the responsibility for six orphans. For this they received a salary of $10.00 a month. When this photograph was taken in 1880, Sister Placida Heine had replaced Sister Agatha Nachbar. Because the number of orphans grew to 17 by 1879, a new building was constructed near the Assumption parochial school so that the orphans could be educated there. After St. Gertrude's Convent was amalgamated with St. Benedict's in 1880, the orphanage came under the jurisdiction of St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, MN. For information about St. Gertrude's Convent, see SBM.03e or sbm00016 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
A 1930 photo of Sister Agnes (Catherine) Somers. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, in 1875, she entered the Duluth Benedictines in 1900 at the suggestion of her cousin, Sr. Celestine Sullivan. She was instrumental in the creation of the College of St. Scholastica in 1912. She was prioress of the Duluth community from 1924-1942, and under her administration the College became a four-year institution in 1924, Tower Hall was completed in 1928, Stanbrook Hall and the College library and chapel were constructed in 1938. In her retirement, she wrote an (unpublished) history of the community to 1924, and a description of the architectural and artistic holdings of the College, All Her Ways.
An 1885 photograph of Sister Alexia (Mary Martha) Kerst (1856-1916), the sister of Mother Scholastica. She was born in St. Paul, MN, and entered St. Benedict's Convent in St. Joseph, MN, in 1878. She was the first administrator of St. Alexius Hospital in Bismarck, ND. She came to Duluth with the other foundresses of the Duluth Benedictine community in 1892 and was instrumental in the foundation of St. Mary's Hospital there. When Mother Scholastica died in 1911 she was elected prioress, a position she held until her death in 1916.
A 1924 photo of Sister Chrysostom (Margaret) Doran (1875-1959, fourth prioress of the Duluth Benedictine Sisters . She was born in New London. WI and started teaching at age 17 and entered the Duluth Benedictines in 1906. In 1919, Bishop McNicholas appointed her Prioress of the community. She embarked on an ambitious building project: added a tower and wing extension to Villa Sancta Scholastica, a gymnasium for the college and an extension to St. Mary's Hospital. She had the old Sacred Heart Institute converted to a residence for nursing students , and oversaw the foundation of an independent Benedictine community in Crookston. She was Prioress from 1919 to 1924.
Sisters Albina and Pretrina Hoeft, who learned this craft as girls in Bavaria, are shown "scutching" the flax to get rid of the chaff that remained on the fine fiber inside the stem after pounding away the coarse straw.
After the removal of all the chaff from the fiber inside the straws of flax, the fiber was combed through nails on a board in order to divide the strips of fiber into single strands. This process was known as "hackling." The flax fiber was then passed through hot water so that it would break while being twisted in the final step of "hand spinning."