Unexpected Graces: Sister Kathleen Del Monte
by Theresa Butler, Development/PR Administrative Assistant
Originally published in Summer 2025 Pathways Magazine
Sometimes the path that one sets out on can change along the way. One of our more newly professed members, Sister Kathleen Del Monte, can attest to this and is grateful for the “unexpected graces” which led her to St. Scholastica Monastery.
Sister Kathleen is originally from New York, born and raised in a Catholic family, the youngest of seven children. She remembers her parents living out their Catholic faith, not by preaching, but by modeling and walking the walk. Kathleen and her siblings went to Catholic elementary school, where she was introduced to religious Sisters for the first time – the Dominican Sisters who were her teachers. Her Catholic education supported what her parents taught her at home and going to Mass on Sundays was a normal part of their family life. Although Kathleen did not seriously consider religious life as a child, her church community was important to her and she actively participated in parish life through high school.
Following high school graduation, Kathleen earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in Sociology and Applied Social Relations and a second major in History. She then went on to study Anthropology, earning a master’s degree from Syracuse University in New York. Kathleen completed her anthropology studies with a doctorate in Applied Anthropology, with a focus on education policy and program analysis, from the University of South Florida.
After Kathleen defended her dissertation and earned her PhD, she worked in her “dream job” as a Policy Analyst for the Florida Legislature, a job that perfectly fit her abilities. Kathleen had been at the Legislature for 10 years and it was going well; she had a great job doing challenging and exciting work, was well respected, and was moving up the ranks. She had everything she thought she ever wanted: a terminal degree, paid-off loans, a home in a nice neighborhood. Yet, at a certain point, it felt like something was missing. She considered getting a different job or going back to school, but nothing seemed to resonate.
A friend suggested Kathleen talk with Father Michael at her parish, Good Shepherd. After talking to Father Michael, he suggested that she talk to one of the deacons. During her first meeting with the deacon, she shared what was on her mind and in her heart. To her great surprise (and not a little skepticism at the time) he told her that he thought she had a religious vocation. When she first heard this, she thought “no way!” She believed she was not “Sister material” and already felt she was on a “God path.” She came up with a lengthy list of reasons for why she believed she could not possibly be called to religious life. However, the more she thought about it the more the idea did not go away. So, she sought out spiritual direction and spent time in Eucharistic adoration asking God for guidance.
As she continued to explore, Kathleen found a website that matches a person with potential religious communities that fit them. From this website she received 58 potential matches for religious communities. The communities that most drew her attention were all monastic, though at the time she had no idea what that word meant. There were three Benedictine communities in particular whose websites she continually revisited. She reached out to these three, sharing a bit about her prayer life. One of the communities responded that she was above their age requirement but told her, “It certainly sounds like you have a Benedictine heart.” The other two Benedictine communities said, “Come and see.” One of those was St. Scholastica Monastery. After viewing our website and coming for a visit, there were many indications that this was where God was calling her. The Sisters invited her back and she knew this was home.
After she made her decision, the unexpected graces she received were a further indication that this was where she was called to be. When she started telling her employer, colleagues, family members, and friends about her decision, incredible things started happening – all God’s grace. One colleague with whom she had worked shared her heart in ways she never had before. Other coworkers and friends started trusting her with matters of the heart, joys and pains they had not previously shared, resulting in grace upon grace. In 2012 when she was preparing to sell her house, there was a downturn in the housing market but to her realtor’s great surprise, within less than a week of listing her home for sale, she had three potential buyers each make an offer.
Kathleen began her journey with the Duluth Benedictines as an affiliate in December of 2011. On August 22, 2013, she entered the Novitiate and became Sister Kathleen. She made her first monastic profession in 2015 and her perpetual monastic profession in 2019. In October 2015, she started shadowing +Sister Mary Rochefort, the Associate Vice President for Mission Integration at The College of St. Scholastica (CSS), a position for which she was hired in 2016 and that she continues today.
As Associate Vice President for Mission Integration, Sister Kathleen serves on the CSS President’s Cabinet. She is staff liaison to the Mission and Identity Committee of the CSS Board of Trustees, leads the Mission Integration Advisory Board, and serves on other College committees and task forces. Every year Sister Kathleen speaks to each of the CSS Dignitas classes, introducing the College’s rich Benedictine legacy, including the five core values to first year students. In addition, Sister Kathleen teaches Benedictine values to new CSS faculty, staff, and trustees as well as to other classes and groups. In 2018, Sister Kathleen earned a master’s degree in Theology from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, taking much of her classwork online.
Sister Kathleen serves on several boards and committees, including the Benedictine Sisters Benevolent Association (BSBA) and Monastic Council, the Finance Committee, Stella Maris Academy, St. Francis Regional Medical Center, and Benedictine Living Community of Shakopee. She presents formation sessions for the CSS Board of Trustees and is part of the team involved in the Duluth Benedictine Ministries Benedictine Leadership Formation program for leaders of sponsored ministries. She has taught many of the modules for Volume 1 of the program.
Sister Kathleen’s favorite aspect of the threefold vow as a Benedictine is conversatio, ongoing transformation. She strives each day to be willing and open to allow God to make her and re-make her. One ritual that she has is a morning offering – offering her day to God. She prays for “healing, wholeness, and transformation for myself and for all people.” Sister Kathleen recognizes that in quieting herself, she is able to find God who is already there. We are thankful for Sister Kathleen’s vocation and for the unexpected graces which led her to become a Benedictine Sister.
