The Erie Benedictine community recently welcomed and blessed four women who have moved into the monastery. Sister Stephanie Schmidt, prioress, leads the blessing for (L to R) Calista Robledo, Melissa Pfeifer, Erin Falk, and Emily Brandt. Calista is an Mdiv student at Boston College who is living at the monastery while she completes a ministry requirement for her program at Monasteries of the Heart and the Neighborhood Art House. She will be at the monastery until early August. She is from Texas. Melissa, Erin, and Emily are the inaugural cohort for the new year-long Benedictine Peacemakers program. Melissa and Emily are from Kansas and Erin is from New York state.
May 2025, marked the 10th Anniversary of “Laudato Sí, On Care for Our Common Home.” That same month Pope Francis, the author and life force of that landmark document, died. What now? Will his successor, Leo XIV, embrace the concern and challenge for the environmental crisis with the same clarity and zeal as Frances?
The Benedictine community celebrated their three Golden Jubilarians at Evening Praise on June 21. Sister Mary Ellen Plumb, Sister Charles Marie Holze, and Sister Stephanie Schmidt proclaimed their vows anew after 50 years of living the monastic life. Many friends, family, and oblates joined the celebration in chapel and enjoyed the reception that followed. Sister Anne McCarthy offered reflections, highlighting the gifts of each jubilarian. Listen to her reflections.
The Summer 2025 issue of The Mount is available in PDF format.
Sister Paula Burke, OSB, 88, died on June 18, 2025, at Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Erie.
