St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). As St. Benedict's Academy's enrollment increased, a larger study hall included a stage so that the study hall could serve as an auditorium when needed. The school year was enhanced with performances by the Drama Club, Choral Group, and enriching lectures by guest speakers. One guest speaker, Herman Zschokke, chaplain to the Austrian imperial court and ex-rector of the University of Vienna, later described his visit to Minnesota in a book, "Nach Nordamericka und Canada." As the academy became a college centered on the west campus, a large Benedicta Arts Building/Petters Auditorium was built; it not only serves the college and Benedictine community but also central Minnesota (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 107-108)
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).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). The small village of St. Augusta was settled by Germans in 1854. It was first named Berlin, then Neenah, and in 1856 named St. Augusta by Father Francis Xavier Pierz. Father Pierz was a well-known Indian missionary at Crow Wing who made the rounds on foot to St. Cloud and the neighboring German settlements, carrying only a knapsack containing everything needed for church services. In 1886 Father Pierz organized a parish and a school in St. Augusta, and Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph were invited to teach in that parish/district school. The public versus parochial school controversy did not plague the St. Augusta parishioners (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Olsenius, page 118).
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:
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.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The Angel II patterns, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
These patterns of the cross, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art and Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The patterns of the fish, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The Gold patterns, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The patterns of the lamb, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The patterns of symbols of the Rose, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The patterns of stag, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The patterns of symbols of the Eucharist, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Art Needlework Department, 1883-1968, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1968
Description:
The patterns of the symbols of passion, most of which are perforated, were stamped for embroidery onto liturgical vestments and accouterments. Many of the patterns are original designs of members of the Art Needlework Department of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
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.
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909); St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. The exact location of the convent in this photograph is not recorded, but the Holy Angels Parish records show that it took 25 years for the parish to build a convent for the sisters who taught in Holy Angels Grade School in St. Cloud. "The sisters moved around like nomads. For the first 11 or 12 years, they lived in St. Mary's Convent near the site of the old post office. Then they lived in Captain Taylor's house on Seventh Avenue North for one year; next the Grundman house on Eighth Avenue North and in the (St. Clotilde's) Music Academy. They also lived for a while in the Munsinger Hotel" (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Voigt, page 54).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). The library became a vital part of the academy. It was one of the most inviting places on the campus -- one that encouraged the Benedictine tradition of love for learning. In the next addition to the academy/college (Teresa Hall in 1914), an entire floor was devoted to the library. Eventually, as the college expanded to the western portion of the campus, a separate building was constructed as the campus library (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
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.
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 Academy (1883-1909). The tradition of preserving records and items of historical importance is passed on from one generation to the next -- from the Benedictine community in EichstÃtt, Bavaria, to the Sisters of St. Benedict in St. Joseph. Now a large archives and a museum, "Art and Heritage Place," preserve the records and objects which have been collected over the years by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Joseph, MN, to depict their life and work here and abroad (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
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.
Drama held a significant role in the curriculum of the academy. Performances drew large audiences, not only from the surrounding areas, but from as far as Milwaukee, WI. The Delsarle Tableaux performance, honoring Bishop Otto Zardetti, was presented at the Village Hall in St. Joseph on February 10, 1893 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). To enhance the solemnity of community worship, the sisters invested in pipe organs from 1904, when this organ was purchased for the chapel in Scholastica Hall, to the present time. Along with the restoration of Gregorian Chant, the Liturgical Movement became a primary focus of the community. For some of its members, in particular Sisters Urban, Cecile, and Gemma Gertken, it became their life's work (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). The heart of a Benedictine monastery is the chapel. Because of the very small chapel within the first convent complex, the sisters attended religious services in the parish church during their early years in St. Joseph. To sustain a strong daily community liturgical life of prayer within the convent, a larger chapel was built in the Scholastica Hall addition in 1892 to accommodate the sisters (and often the students) as they gathered several times daily for community prayer and Eucharist. Within twenty years, the sisters were beginning plans for a large church, Sacred Heart Chapel, to witness to the centrality of worship, not only for St. Benedict's campus, but for the surrounding area of Stearns County. (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
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.