Today, February 10, is the Feast of St. Scholastica. On February 1, the Sisters began the Novena to St. Scholastica with hymns, psalms, and special prayers asking for her intercessions each day. Today, the Sisters will have Eucharist in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel followed by a dinner feast and Evening Prayer.
As Sisters and guests enter the Chapel, they are welcomed by 14 stained-glass windows of women Saints that line the Gathering Space. Inside the main Chapel to the north, three more stained-glass windows illumine the Benedictine devotional area, including one of St. Scholastica. It’s a perfect day to pay special attention to the description of the stained-glass artwork of St. Scholastica.
The following excerpt is taken from the descriptions in the book All Her Ways, written by +Sister Agnes Somers, about the 17 windows in the Gathering Space and devotional area.
St. Scholastica: “Christian Education”
St. Scholastica was the sister of St. Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order. In the window, an abbatial staff indicates her dignity as Abbess. Moreover, she is the patroness of the Benedictine schools conducted by women and the first in a long line of teaching nuns. The upper part of the main panel displays a Rule of St. Benedict to indicate that she was directed by the wise counsels of her saintly brother. Two nuns at the lower part of the panel are reciting the Opus Dei, or the Divine Office. The casement windows show two aspirants of the Order engaged in the humble task of sweeping the floor. St. Benedict dignified manual work … by requiring that his monks should engage in the labor of the hands. St. Scholastica made a like requirement for her nuns.
St. Scholastica…pray for us.