SBA Open House draws 200 alumnae
The final Erie Benedictine 170th Anniversary Event highlighted women who have been carrying Benedictine values into the world for nearly the entire history of the community--St. Benedict Academy Alumnae. The sisters opened the St. Benedict Academy on East Ninth Street in 1890. The school closed in 1988. Scroll for a photo gallery of the afternoon.
To honor this legacy of empowering young women, the community hosted an Open House in the former SBA building on East Tenth Street on July 26 and about 200 alumnae and sisters walked the halls once again. Former teacher Sister Rosanne Loneck spent the afternoon in one conversation after another: "I heard amazing stories of how the years at SBA shaped the lives of these women. They spoke of the importance of learning to believe in themselves, of being trusted to take initiative and to lead, of knowing that the sisters loved them and wanted them to excel as women. And we did love them, we still love them. We showed them the value of a spiritual community by how we lived our Benedictine life. I am so grateful for those years and also for who they have become."
Classes from the 1950s through the 1980s were represented and their voices echoed through the halls, classrooms, and stairwells as they reconnected, gathered for photos, told stories, and tried to remembered which was their locker. While some changes have been made in the building to accommodate the needs of its current use as St. Benedict Education Center, most everything was recognizable and very well maintained. Scroll for a photo gallery of the afternoon.
