Celebrating 70 years of monastic life
A young Joan Chittister knew that she wanted to go to St. Benedict Academy and that decision shaped her life in more ways than she could have known.
Always a writer, one of Sister Joan’s earliest books, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, has become a classic text on the Rule of Benedict. Since that book, she has become one of the most influential religious and social leaders of our time. For over 50 years she has passionately advocated on behalf of peace, human rights, women’s issues, and monastic and church renewal. A much sought-after international speaker, she has written more than 60 books, hundreds of articles, and an online column for the National Catholic Reporter. Sister Joan was an Elected Fellow and Von Hugel lecturer of St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, England. She has appeared with dignitaries, presidents, and religious leaders and has walked in solidarity with women’s groups seeking justice in countries around the world.
For twelve years, from 1978-1990, Sister Joan was prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. She also served as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, president of the Federation of St. Scholastica, and president of the Conference of Benedictine Prioresses. She was instrumental in the forming of Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB), the international organization of Benedictine women.
Sister Joan is executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality which she began with Sister Mary Lou Kownacki after completing her ministry as prioress in 1990. In 2010, again with Sister Mary Lou, she became the animator of the online movement, Monasteries of the Heart.
Sister Lucia Marie was born and raised in New York City. She attended Slovak Girls Academy in Danville, Pennsylvania. After graduation she entered the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Danville. Two of her sisters, Therese Marie and Claire Marie, were also in the community.
Sister Lucia Marie was a primary school teacher and then a principal in diocesan schools in Pennsylvania, New York, and South Carolina until 1990 when she began the transfer process to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, where her sister Claire Marie had already moved.
A desire to serve the poor and work for peace and justice are what brought Sister Lucia to the Erie Benedictines. She celebrated her final incorporation into the community in 1993.
In Erie, she began working with Emmaus Ministries, eventually becoming the coordinator of the soup kitchen and food pantry. She continued this ministry for thirty years until she retired in 2020, but her love for God’s special ones at Emmaus remains strong.
For twelve years, while working at Emmaus, Sister Lucia also served as Oblate Co-Director with Sisters Claire Marie Surmik and Karen Kosin.
Sister Lucia is an award-winning photographer with a gift for seeing beauty through her camera lens and capturing it at just the right moment. Her work has been in juried and other art shows and has appeared in many Benetvision publications. She displays her photography in shows at the monastery and offers it for sale in Chapter 57, the monastery gift shop.
Sister Lucia continues to be active in local peace vigils and climate justice rallies. Retirement has not stopped her from active participation in works for peace and justice.
Sister Placida holds the record as the longest-living Benedictine Sister of Erie—as of this printing, she is 106 years old.
She began her life in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1917 and as an infant fell ill during the 1918 pandemic. The doctors told her mother to give her drops of whiskey, a story she enjoyed telling after also surviving more than one bout of Covid-19 during the 2020 pandemic.
Sister Placida originally entered the Benedictine Sisters of Holy Family Priory in Benet Lake, Wisconsin, after earning a degree in journalism from Marquette University. She served in pastoral ministry in parishes in Wisconsin, San Antonio, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, in the process growing quite fond of the Southwest. In her Benet Lake community she served as subprioress and monastic council secretary and also novice mistress and scholastic director.
From1960-1964 Sister Placida spent summers feeding her great love for scripture by participating in the Benedictine Institute of Sacred Theology at St. John’s Seminary, now Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, Collegeville, Minnesota.
In 1986 the sisters of Holy Family Priory began a merger process with the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. 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.
Sister Placida continues to enjoy digital photography and sharing her images via email.
Celebrating 60 years of monastic life
Sister Helen grew up in Oil City, Pennsylvania, where she attended Catholic schools staffed by Erie Benedictines. She came to Erie after high school graduation to enter the Benedictine Sisters. She taught at grade schools in the diocese for a number of years before becoming an administrative assistant at St. Benedict Academy.
While still at SBA, Sister Helen became director of the Glinodo Summer Camp Program. After seven years of summer camp and the conclusion of her ministry at SBA, she became Recreation Program Director at Glinodo, spending nearly fifteen years creatively bringing children and adults into closer relationships with nature. A degree in Therapeutic Recreation, which she earned from Villa Maria College in 1984, supported Sister Helen’s work.
In 1993 Sister Helen left Glinodo Center to focus on the well-being of her Benedictine sisters as the community’s Wellness Coordinator. For more than twenty-five years she offered regular and creative opportunities geared toward holistic well-being for the sisters. During this time, she also served young persons who were sentenced to community service by the Harborcreek Juvenile Court. Many of them grew to love her and the programs she planned to fulfill their service.
Sister Helen’s artistic arrangements for special dinners and her creativity in liturgy inspired sisters and guests for years before she retired. Throughout her sixty years in community Sister Helen has regularly astounded others with her creative way of looking at the world.
Sister Christine grew up in Erie, graduated from St. Benedict Academy in 1962, and entered the Benedictine Sisters that fall.
The community called Sister Christine to a path of ministry with young children. She taught primary grades in diocesan schools then began a ministry in early childhood education, teaching preschoolers at St. Benedict Day Care and Head Start Center and then at Mercyhurst University Child Development Lab where she was also an administrator. Later she became a case manager at Early Intervention, a program for children from birth to age three with disabilities. Sister Christine was the Director of the East Coast Migrant Head Start Program when it was housed at Mount St. Benedict Monastery prior to moving to its present location on East Ninth Street.
She ministered at Saint Benedict Education Center for ten years in the Meadville, Pennsylvania, office, supporting adults seeking to move from welfare to work.
At present Sister Christine is on the staff of the Alliance for International Monasticism, U.S. Secretariat (AIM USA) where she directs the Missionary Cooperative Program and coordinates the AIM USA newsletter. The focus of these works introduces the public to and educates them on monastic life as lived in the different cultures where Benedictine communities are found around the globe.
Sister Christine has served her monastic community over the years as Human Development Director, Formation Director, monastic council member and as a member of the monastic formation team.
An Erie native, Sister Carolyn graduated from St. Benedict Academy where she was the 1958 SBA Girl. Four years later, after earning a degree from Mercyhurst College, she entered the Benedictine Sisters of Erie.
Like most of her sisters, Sister Carolyn taught school and then served as principal for many years before moving into other ministries. In the 1970s she moved into Pax Center, a Christian Community for Nonviolence, an intentional community within the Benedictine community that engaged in peace education and action for nuclear disarmament and other social issues. Pax Center also offered hospitality to homeless women. As part of Pax Center, Sister Carolyn was one of the “founding mothers” of Emmaus Soup Kitchen in 1974 and its first director.
In the 1990s, after studying Creation Spirituality in Chicago, Sister Carolyn began creating and leading spirituality programs while serving as director of the community’s Glinodo Center. She led “Spirit of the Seasons” and then “Seasons of the Spirit” retreats for more than thirty years and in the process brought many spirituality seekers to the monastery where they became friends and benefactors of the community.
Sister Carolyn has served her Benedictine sisters in many ways throughout her sixty years in community: as Human Development Director, as Monastic Formation Director, and as subprioress.
When she concluded the retreat programs she began a podcast, “Creation Spirituality with Sister Carolyn” that can be found on the community website.
Sister Marian entered the Benedictine Sisters of Elk County at St. Joseph Monastery in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, in 1962 after graduating from Central Catholic High School. She grew up in St. Marys and taught in diocesan grade schools around the diocese before going to Tanzania in 1980 where she lived and taught at Oldonyo Sambu high school seminary for seven years. Upon her return to the United States, she became a certified chaplain and became a pastoral care director and chaplain at Andrew Kaul Memorial Hospital in St. Marys.
In 1996 Sister Marian began the transfer process to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, finalizing her transfer in 2000. When she moved to Erie, Sister Marian joined the staff at the Alliance for International Monasticism, U.S. Secretariat (AIM USA) where one of her responsibilities was coordinating the Commission for African Sisters. The commission sent Benedictine women from the U.S. to offer various workshops to their sisters in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. With Sister Therese Glass, Sister Marian established an English program for sisters in Tanzania. Since leaving AIM USA, Sister Marian has led other trips to Africa. In 2017 she organized a trip to Tanzania for the 50th anniversary of the Oldonyo Sambu high school seminary.
Sister Marian joined the pastoral staff at St. Bernard Parish in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania, in 2004. After three years at the parish, she and Sister Clare Marie Beichner, SSJ, began Catholic Rural Ministry in Oil City, Pennsylvania, where she continues to minister to the people in the sixteen parishes of the deanery. Sister Tina Geiger, RSM, joined Sister Marian in 2010 when Sister Clare Marie returned to Erie.
Celebrating 50 years of monastic life
Sister Diane grew up in her native Erie and attended St. Benedict Academy. Three years after graduation, and while finishing a degree at Villa Maria College, she entered the Benedictine Sisters. Sister Diane spent her early years in community teaching and serving as principal at St. Gregory School in North East.
In 1991 Sister Diane became the administrator of St. Benedict Child Development Center, following the retirement of Sister Alice Schierberl who had begun the center. For nearly thirty years Sister Diane directed the award-winning center, growing the programs, training staff, and giving children and their families opportunities they would not have had otherwise.
At the same time Sister Diane was leading the day care center, she also served in numerous positions in her Benedictine community. She was Mount Coordinator and she served as Vocation Director and Scholastic Director. She was subprioress for both Sisters Phyllis Schleicher and Christine Vladimiroff and served on the monastic council from 1996-2010.
In 2020 the community elected Sister Diane to the monastic council once again and when prioress Sister Stephanie Schmidt asked her to become subprioress, she resigned her position as director of the day care. She continued in her position as Mount Coordinator in addition to serving as subprioress.
Sister Diane continues to serve on the board of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project.
Sister Charlotte Anne grew up in Philadelphia where she attended Catholic schools and in 1971 entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. She taught at schools in the Archdioceses of Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey, for nearly ten years.
An accomplished keyboardist, Sister Charlotte became community liturgist for the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1981. After five years, she became Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Helena Parish in Bellefonte, Delaware, until 1989. During those years she completed her B.A. in Music at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia and then an M.A. in Church Music and Liturgy at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, Indiana. She joined the summer faculty in music and liturgy at Rensselear after completing her degree, a position she held for nearly fifteen years.
Sister Charlotte transferred to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie finalizing her transfer in 1994. She was a teacher and principal in diocesan schools in Erie before serving in community ministries: Benet Press, Mount Coordinator, the Neighborhood Art House, and Director of Communications. In 2002 she earned an M.Phil. from Drew University followed by a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies in 2004. She became an adjunct professor at Gannon University in 2007, where she still teaches.
The Benedictine community elected Sister Charlotte to the monastic council in 2010 and again in 2015, where she served for ten years.
Sister Charlotte is an integral member of liturgical ministry and music at the monastery. She received the Father Lawrence Heiman Citation for Excellence in Church Music and Liturgy and served as accompanist for the Te Deum CD and two city-wide choral presentations of the St. Benedict Academy Alumnae Association.
Sister Diane was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She entered the Benedictine Sisters in Ridgley, Maryland, in 1971 and was sent to Erie for her novitiate year in 1973 after which she remained in Erie. She earned degrees at Mercyhurst College and Edinboro University.
Sister Diane successfully sat for the CPA exam and became a Certified Public Accountant in 2002. Her financial prowess is widely recognized in many religious organizations where she has offered consulting services.
In Erie, Sister Diane’s first ministry was teaching followed by two years as director of the Learning Disabilities Program at St. Benedict Academy. In 1981 she became bookkeeper and secretary at Glinodo Conference Center and, in 1985, began working in the business office at Mount St. Benedict Monastery. In 1990 she was named Treasurer of the community, a position she continues to hold.
During this time, she held multiple other positions including general accountant at Maloney, Reed, Scarpitti & Co. She served as bookkeeper for Erie DAWN (Dwellings and Advocacy for Women in Need), Treasurer for Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB), consultant and teacher for the National Religious Retirement Office, Board Member for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops serving on the Accounting Practices Committee, board member for the Catholic United Investment Trust and for NATRI, the National Association for Treasurers of Religious Institutes. She has consulted for religious communities around the country.
Sister Diane has served on the Monastic Congregation of St. Scholastica Finance Committee for over ten years. She also served ten years on the Erie community’s monastic council.
