Who We Are

We are a Community of Benedictine monastic women who seek God in response to the Gospel challenge and the Rule of St. Benedict. We live a contemplative/active life, grounded in liturgical and personal prayer, in lectio divina, with time for silence and solitude, a life balanced by work, study, and leisure. We encourage each other to develop our individual talents and rejoice in the sharing of these gifts through our variety of ministries.Through our monastic profession, we vow stability, fidelity to the monastic life, and obedience in a threefold commitment to discipleship.

STABILITY is uniquely Benedictine and calls us to live together for a lifetime in the monastery of our profession. Stability challenges us to be an ecclesial community, a sacrament of Christ’s presence, as we respond to the transforming presence of the living God. Stability promises that regardless where our individual ministries might take us, we will always return to this Monastery. In our hearts and in our lives as Benedictines, we are always on our way home.
FIDELITY TO THE MONASTIC LIFE is our commitment to personal growth and change, to an awareness of the rough edges of our lives and to a willingness to transform them. Our promise of fidelity to the monastic life, which includes poverty and celibacy, is our commitment to ongoing growth in our relationship with God and with our Sisters in Community, our promise to become whom we are called to be by Christ.
OBEDIENCE calls us to listen attentively and to respond eagerly to the will of God as revealed through our prioress and the Community, in Scripture, in the Rule of St. Benedict, in the needs of the Church and society, and in the ongoing challenges of human history. Through individual and communal obedience we empty ourselves so that the transforming presence of God may fill and guide us.

We Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery have been deeply rooted in the City and Diocese of Duluth for 125 years. We look forward to the future with great hope, trusting in a loving God to show us how we can continue to help create a more just and compassionate world. Monastic Life is solidly based on communal living: a mutual reaching out to others, within and outside the religious community itself.

Sister Barbara Ann Vierzba, Monastery subprioress

"I am amazed at how well we share our time, gifts, and talents with one another. I belong to a Benedictine family that participates in prayer, work, and leisure. Everyone is important." - Sister Barbara Ann Vierzba, Monastery subprioress

Who Joins Our Community

Click here to view larger version of photo and names of Sisters

We are women of varying backgrounds, interests and talents. We welcome eligible women who truly seek God to join us — the young and the not-so-young, the educated and/or those richly experienced and skilled, those established in their careers and those still preparing for their careers. We are open to various forms of ministry to God and God’s people as long as these are compatible with living the monastic life. If you are currently considering dedicating your life to God and are discerning to which form of religious life God is calling you, we invite you to follow the link to our Join Us section and then contact our Vocation Director if you wish further information.

Sister Jane Casey and Sister Maria Volk enjoy a summer day on the shore of Lake Superior.

Taking a welcome coffee break and a chance to chat are Sisters Mary Rae Higgins, Mary Carol and Grace Marie Braun, and Mary Catherine Shambour.

Sisters in the Chapel at prayer. Sisters engage in prayer both together and privately throughout every day.

Sister Monica Laughlin and Sister Theresa Spinler (left to right).

The Feast of St. Scholastica, patroness of the Community, is celebrated with a special dinner after Eucharist. Sister Monica Laughlin and Sister Theresa Spinler (left to right).