New Monastery Groundbreaking For Sisters Of Saint Benedict In St. Joseph

ST. JOSEPH (WJON News) -- Calling it "an historic occasion," the Prioress of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph helped break ground on a new monastery on Wednesday.

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Sister Karen Rose says it's a very unique thing for the convent. When they first arrived in central Minnesota in 1857, they settled in what is now St. Cloud. Six years later, they moved to their current site in what is now St. Joseph. The main brick building that stands today was built in the 1880s, which is where the sisters live now. However, there have been several additions over the years.

Sister Rose says the reason for the need for a new monastery is that, like many other religious communities, they are becoming smaller. At its peak, the Saint Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph had over 1,200 members in the 1940s. However, not all of the sisters ever lived in the current monastery. It was never big enough for that. But it is a lot bigger than what they need now. The number of sisters is currently about 120.

They say they don't want all of their energy and resources going into maintaining the large older building.

Sister Rose says they love the current monastery, and it is going to be hard to let it go, especially the Sacred Heart Chapel.

The new building will be very green with geothermal heating and solar panels. Other features will be 36 bedrooms, office space, and a chapel that will seat up to 150 people, which will be at the heart of the building.

They've been planning for this moment for decades, and saving money for a long time. They are not going to run a capital campaign. Money from the sale of the current buildings will help to pay for the project.

Sister Rose says they are hoping the College of St. Benedict will take over the current monastery buildings. There is nothing set in stone yet, but they do have the right of first refusal. She says the college has expressed interest.

The Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict also have the Saint Scholastica Convent in east St. Cloud for the sisters who are sick. There are about 60 sisters there, and the other 60 are at St. Ben's. Sister Rose says they had considered adding on to that facility, but in the end decided that their roots are in St. Joseph and the connection they have to the college is too important to them, and they didn't want to let that go.

Construction on the new facility is expected to take between 18 and 24 months. It is being built in an open area on the far west end of the Saint Ben's campus.