To a time of chaos, Benedict responded with a call for stability and rootedness. To a society in which the family structure was decaying, Benedict offered a model of community based on love and respect for one another. To a world which had forgotten the love of God, Benedict called for prayer and study of Scripture in order to listen to God's word.
As Benedictine monasteries spread throughout Europe, they carried with them a desire for learning, a sense of family, and a message of God's love. Western civilization was preserved, and Western monasticism was born.
Over the centuries, Benedictines adapted themselves to the needs of the church and culture in which they found themselves, including that of the American wilderness.
In 1851, Rev. Boniface Wimmer, OSB, superior of the Benedictine monks in America, visited St. Walburga Abbey in Eichstätt, Germany, to ask the sisters to begin a foundation in the United States. A year later, on July 4, 1852, three sisters arrived in New York Harbor to start their new lives in America. The three, Sisters Benedicta Riepp, Walburga Dietrich, and Maura Fleiger, settled in the small town of St. Marys, Pennsylvania.
Who are the Ferdinand Benedictines
The Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand
The Ferdinand Benedictines are one of the largest Benedictine communities of women in the United States.
The religious community numbers 173 women, about 115 of whom currently live in Ferdinand at Monastery Immaculate Conception.
The community includes 7 women in initial formation (two novices, five temporary professed), the first three stages of membership. The Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand are members of the Federation of St. Gertrude.
Ministries of the Ferdinand Benedictine Sisters
Currently, 80 sisters serve in full-time positions outside the monastery. In addition, 20 sisters serve in part-time positions outside the monastery.
Ferdinand Benedictines serve in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, Italy, and Peru.
The sisters serve in the areas of education, parish work, health care, counseling, retreat and spirituality work, social services, and mission work.
A sampling of positions held by Ferdinand Benedictine Sisters include: parish pastoral associate, director of religious education, liturgist, youth director, superintendent of schools, school principal, school director, teacher (at all levels, from pre-school through college), psychologist, planning coordinator for a homeless coalition, librarian, hospital chaplain, nurse, physical therapist, veterinarian, comptroller, spiritual director, administrator.
The Ferdinand Benedictines operate For Heaven’s Sake, the monastery gift shop, and Kordes Center, a guest facility, both on the monastery grounds.
History
The Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand were founded in 1867 by four young Benedictine sisters who came from Covington, Kentucky, to teach Ferdinand’s German settlers. (See The History of the Ferdinand Benedictines.)
In the past 140 years, over 1,000 women have entered the Ferdinand Benedictine community. Their faith, spirit, and energy have led to the establishment of six independent monasteries—in Arkansas, North Dakota, California, Louisiana, Indiana, and Kentucky—and missions in Peru and Guatemala.
At a time when many religious communities have not had new members in years, the Ferdinand Benedictine community has averaged almost three new members yearly for the last 12 years. The community’s success in gaining new members has been featured in print and broadcast media internationally, including a Wall Street Journal article and an episode of ABC’s "Nightline."
Monastery and Grounds
The monastery's architectural magnificence has earned it the name "Castle on the Hill." The heart of the monastery is the church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Also on the grounds are a Lourdes Grotto, outdoor Stations of the Cross, the Rosary Steps, a walkway for recitation of the traditional prayer, and Hildegard’s Labyrinth for walking prayer and meditation.
Guided tours are available Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Tours are available at other times by appointment. Known for their hospitality—part of the Benedictine rule by which they live—the sisters welcome visitors to share the peace and beauty of their facilities.
Despite hardships and poverty, the community grew and began to branch out to other locations. In 1859, one of St. Marys foundations, a community at Erie, gained its independence. That same year, three sisters left Erie for Covington, Kentucky, to serve in that diocese at the request of the bishop.
The Covington community grew rapidly. When the dwelling that served as both convent and a girls' school became too small, the sisters constructed a new building they dedicated as St. Walburg Convent.
It was to this convent that Rev. Chrysostom Foffa, OSB, came when he needed teachers for a school in Ferdinand. On August 20, 1867, four sisters from St. Walburg—Sisters Mary Benedicta Berns, 21, Mary Rose Chapelle, 19, Mary Xaveria Schroeder, 23, and Mary Clara Vollmer, 33—arrived in Ferdinand. Two days after their arrival, they received their first postulant.
These four Benedictine women were makers of history, as much pioneers as the trailblazing figures we usually think of bravely heading out into unknown territory.
From this beginning has grown a vibrant community of sisters, which gave rise over the years to eight additional monasteries and a retreat and conference center that provides a warm and caring haven for the soul's journey.
From this beginning has come forth an endless succession of ripples—waves of energy, spirit, and faith—that have touched and changed people's lives.
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