Each day of National Catholic Sisters Week, we will be sharing the story of our Jubilarian Sisters, those celebrating significant anniversaries in religious life!
During her years as a Benedictine Sister, S. Anna taught elementary education in parochial schools in Yankton, Sioux Falls, and Salem, SD; York and Omaha, NE; and Pueblo, CO. She states the nineteen years of teaching experience with all eight elementary grades, as well as duties of principal were rewarding times in her life, as supported by the love and care of the Sisters she lived with on mission.
In 1969 Sr. Anna was invited to assist in the training of religious education teachers. She received her MA in theology at the Theological Union in Berkeley, CA in 1973 and then implemented the parish family religious education programs in the Sioux Falls diocese. S. Anna writes: “My Benedictine community life could be summarized in Sirach 39:33: ‘All the works of God are good. Every need is fulfilled in due time.’ For I have been privileged to seek God in teaching elementary and junior high and serve as Director of Religious Education and Parish Ministry.
I can now assist in retreat work and the sharing our home and history through tours of our monastery. I am grateful for my parents, family and teachers who have been my mentors in blessing the ‘work of my hands.’” (Ps 90:17)
She entered the convent after graduation in 1952. S. Cynthia began teaching at the elementary level at the newly built Christ the King school in Sioux Falls. This proved to be short term for she was next assigned to the pursuit of higher education majoring in English, French and Spanish. She holds an MA in French from the University of South Dakota, and an MA in English from Georgetown University. Her studies in New York University’s French program included a year spent in Paris. While at Georgetown she taught reading one year in the Washington, D.C. public school system and volunteered to help illiterate prisoners at the prison in Lorton, Virginia.
Returning to Mount Marty College teaching, she joined the education program at the Yankton Federal Prison Camp. S. Cynthia’s foreign language classes prompted her to organize and lead college student tours to Europe annually since 1969. The European tours engendered her interest in foreign films and the teaching and interpretation of foreign movies and the History of Film. Since 2012, S. Cynthia has been Program Director for the Center for Active Learners that offers senior citizens in the area a short-term seminar on various subjects.
About her Jubilee, S. Cynthia writes: “After 60 years, I realize I have been blessed with the Benedictine vision of life. So many good and rich experiences have come to me because of my community and our Benedictine values. Deo Gratias .”
Sister Dorothy Olinger was the seventh child in a family of nine children near Emery, SD. During her 60 years as a Yankton Benedictine Sister, S. Dorothy taught at the elementary level for 35 years in parish schools located in Sioux Falls, Chamberlain, and Webster, SD; and in Albion and Lincoln, NE; and Pueblo, CO. She also ministered at Goodwill Home for Children in Memphis, TN. for three summers, and was parish visitor at Christ the King, Sioux Falls before she moved back to the monastery in 2005.
Sr. Dorothy writes: “At one time I did become aware of a yearning for a contemplative life. However, after 60 years of living, I can still say I feel the Lord was calling me to this place because I now realize we lead lives that are both apostolic and contemplative. I entered Sacred Heart Monastery after making two retreats at Mount Marty which lead me to talk with my pastor, the late Monsignor Meyer. He encouraged me to contact his sister at Yankton. So I wrote to Sr. Beata, who directed me to contact Mother Jerome and the rest is history.”
S. Dorothy is a traveler, having visited Europe and many places of historical interest before entrance to the monastery. Travel did not end with her entrance to religious life in 1952. She cherishes the fun trips with her group as they went on a Jubilee trip to Europe in 1979 and later took more adventurous trips to Benedictine Motherhouses in the United States and visited places of interest throughout the country including Canada. S. Dorothy states: “Being a Benedictine is being at home to me as together we seek God in our everyday lives. This is a reason to celebrate God’s love among us.”
She entered Sacred Heart Convent in August, 1952 and after profession as a Benedictine Sister, she taught in the parish schools of Yankton, Sioux Falls, Salem, SD; Lincoln, St. James, and St. Paul, NE; and Pueblo, CO. For sixteen of those years she also served as Principal.S. Victorine’s love of history and social studies was nurtured by many of the ancient churches and monasteries she visited in her European travels.
Her hunger for knowledge of past events and cultures served S. Victorine well in her position as monastery archivist when she retired from teaching in 1991. A favorite pastime she enjoyed was to study her family’s genealogy and Luxembourgh heritage. S. Victorine was also known for her love of walking and during her time in Lincoln, NE, several friends invited her to join them at a Volkswalks Convention in DC. She next participated in walks in DC, Maryland, Pennyslvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Several walks were in areas that had been the battlefields of the Civil War.
S. Victorine currently resides in the Monastery Care Center. She enjoys music and singing along to familiar tunes. She says her life as a Benedictine has been both fulfilling and challenging. God be praised!
Tomorrow our 70 year Diamonds will take the stage...
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