In Memoriam: Sister Placida Anheuser, OSB
October 15, 1917 – December 25, 2024
After an exceptionally long sojourn on this earth
our sister, Placida, has gone home to God.
We will miss her genial presence and sense of humor.
Placida’s love of scripture and devotion to Mary
were the foundations on which she built her life.
Such grounding in faith freed her
to truly enjoy life with and for others.
A woman of great humility, Placida
frequently encouraged us to not take anything
—including ourselves—too seriously.
She easily affirmed the efforts of others
and spent hours herself reading and in prayer
to support her own learning and growth.
May we follow Placida’s example,
laughing and loving and learning,
all the days of our lives.
Amen
Sister Placida Anheuser, OSB, 107, died on December 25, 2024, at Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Erie. She was born October 15, 1917, in Muskegon, Michigan, to Florence and Ernest Anheuser who named their daughter Elizabeth Margaret. The family later moved to Milwaukee where Betti (as she was known before taking her religious name) went to grade and high school.
Betti earned a degree in journalism from Marquette University in 1940 and worked at the Milwaukee Journal. After more than a decade in journalism, Betti chose a different life direction in 1953 when she entered the Benedictine Sisters of Holy Family Priory in Benet Lake, Wisconsin. When she began the novitiate, she took the name Sister Mary Placida. She made her perpetual monastic profession on September 9, 1957. In 1986 the sisters at Holy Family Priory began a merger process with the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. Sister Placida finalized the transfer of her monastic profession to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie in 1991.
In her Benet Lake community, Sister Placida served several years as procurator before becoming subprioress and spent many years on the monastic council, including as council secretary. She was an elected delegate to Federation Chapters and was novice mistress and scholastic director. She served in pastoral ministry in parishes in Wisconsin, then in San Antonio, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, growing very fond of the people she served as well as the Southwest region. From 1960 to 1964 Sister Placida spent summers participating in the Benedictine Institute of Sacred Theology at St. John’s Seminary, now Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture study was Sister Placida’s lifelong passion.
Once in Erie, Sister Placida served as portress, welcoming guests to the monastery. She was also a clerk at Chapter 57, the monastery gift shop. In 2012 she retired from active ministry. She holds the record as the longest-living Benedictine Sister of Erie and survived two pandemics: as an infant fell ill during the 1918 pandemic. She survived more than one bout of Covid-19 during the 2020 pandemic.
Sister Placida was preceded in death by her parents, Florence and Ernest, her two brothers, James and Ernest, and her sister, Marian. She is survived by her nieces and nephews and her Benedictine Community.
Services will take place at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery: Thursday, January 2, Visitation from 2:00-5:00 p.m. and a Service of Memories at 7:00 p.m.; Friday, January 3, Visitation from 2:00-5:00 p.m. and a Mass of Christian Burial at 5:30 p.m. Interment will be Saturday, January 4, at 9:30 a.m. at Trinity Cemetery. Brugger Funeral Homes and Crematory, Pine Avenue Branch, 845 East 38th Street, is handling arrangements.
Memorials may be made to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, 6101 East Lake Road, Erie, Pennsylvania, 16511, click here.
