Mother Benedicta Riepp

In honor of Mother Benedicta Riepp, OSB, first US Benedictine prioress and one of the first Benedictine sisters to come to the United States from the Bavaria region of Germany, our community instituted the Benedicta Riepp program a decade ago.

This "temporary membership" type program enables women to come and live among us and work in our ministries with us for a year.

We have had about 10 women in this venture and it has truly been an enriching experience for us and, hopefully, for them.

This week we welcomed our latest member of the Benedicta Riepp program, Janice. Janice is an Erie native, an SBA grad, who now lives in New York City. She pronounced her intention to be with us for the next year and will participate in all non-canonical parts of our life.

Of course, there's is one catch to this: we never anticipated that we'd miss them so much when they left. But that's what happened. It's surely worth it, but we do miss them greatly when they return home!


Icon of Mother Benedicta Riepp, OSB by Sr. Mary Charles McGough, OSB.




Mother Benedicta, who died at age 37, is buried on the grounds of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Joseph, MN.








FAQ on our Benedicta Riepp program.


New Morning and Evening Prayer for November (see sidebar).