The Benedictine Sisters of Erie announce the launch of the Benedictine Peacemakers Monastic Immersion program. The application process is now open and will continue through February 2025, with the program scheduled to begin in June. A reflection of the evolution and widening of monastic life, the Benedictine Peacemaker immersion experience is a model for approaching personal formation, spiritual community, and good work in the Benedictine spiritual and monastic tradition.
“We believe that the wisdom of the 1,500 year old tradition of Benedictine monastic life continues to offers a richness to the world today,” says Michelle Scully, program director. “The grounding in community, a dedication to good work, spiritual seeking, and the discovery of self that are a part of this program are things that I believe many people, especially young people, are searching for in their lives.”
For this pilot of the year-long monastic immersion, the program will accept three to five young women ages 22-30 who will spend a year living at the monastery dedicating themselves to a curriculum of classes, experiential learning, and conversations around topics including peacebuilding, racial, gender, and climate justice, spirituality, emerging theologies, monastic economy, and more. They will also serve at a Benedictine ministry in the local community.
“The Benedictine Sisters have a long history of supporting the development and growth of young women in the Erie community,” notes Sister Linda Romey. “From 1869 until 1988 our sisters formed thousands of girls through St. Benedict’s Academy in Erie. In this new program, we commit to sharing our monastic life with young women for one year, so that through working, praying, and studying with us they develop a rootedness in community, greater sense of self, and awareness of how they can commit themselves to doing good work wherever in the world they return to after participating in this program.”
This immersion will be cohort-based, meaning that it will focus on the communal experience as well as individual development. The participants will move through the year together from June 2025 until June 2026, spending their days in a balance of personal study and reflection, collaborative work and conversation, and service to the greater Erie community. “Through this immersive year, our goal is aid in forming these young women into their most whole selves, while also creating a collaborative environment that can be a catalyst for change in the Erie community,” explains Scully.
“The Erie Benedictines have been an active presence in the Erie community since 1856,” notes Romey. “Living and working among the nearly 70 vowed sisters at the monastery, the Peacemakers will contribute to this Benedictine presence in the city not only through their service at our ministries such as Emmaus Soup Kitchen and the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House, but also by networking and engaging with others in the Erie community with those who share values.
Applications for this program are open now through the end of February, at which point an interview process will begin. “We are incredibly excited to begin this experience, and to see what creativity, passion, joy and collaboration come from the sisters and other young women intentionally living, growing, and developing a more just community together,” says Scully.
Read more about the program here or reach out to program director Michelle Scully at 814-899-0614 Ext. 2507 or [email protected]
