St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909); St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Academy class of 1883-1884, front row sitting left to right: Neville Ensor, Mary Schwartz, Elizabeth Spies, Tillie Keppers, Barbara Venne, Margaret Sanz, Ursula Glatzmeier, Anna Herron, Bertha Linnemann, Carrie Smith, Alta Letson, Frances Pfannenstein, Lena Bernick, Mary Rhodes, Lucretia Mutschlechner. Second row sitting: Rose Black, Mary Merten, Anna Brockmann, Theresa Schreiner, Margaret Klein, Stella LaComb, Margaret Kerst, Josephine Friend, Anna Wagner; (Third row sitting): Anna Kahl, Laura Bosworth, Margaret Lauermann, Magdalen Theisen, Barbara Eich; (First row standing): Eliza Darbelly, Louisa Maurin, Sister Alexia Kerst, Mary Roach, Clara Otto, Mary Kennedy; (Second row standing - next to building): Johanna Madigan, Mary Brockmann, Jennie McLean, Sister Bonaventure Kapsner, Margaret Claesgens, Margaret Farrell, Sarah Farrell, Louise Wall, Mattie Bosworth, Josie Smith, Mary Zimmer, Sarah Kelly, Lavina Huber, Sister Pius Roche, Sister Celestine Marschall, Josie Gerard, Mary Hoffmann. While the sisters rejoiced at the increasing enrollment, they were concerned about maintaining a small enough number to assure a homey atmosphere and a community spirit. In the early 1880s, because many of the students were of grade-school age, there was a built-in family atmosphere in the academy. Gradually, however, the academy drew students of high school age and older; by 1909, the academy was ready to consider offering college classes (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
First 5O years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). At first the college shared the facilities of the academy in Cecilia and Gertrude Halls. Cecilia Hall, built in 1881, is described in the 1926 College Bulletin: "Five dining halls with service rooms occupy the basement floor, five reception rooms the first floor, seventeen music practice rooms and five teacher's studios the second, while the third was remodeled in 1924 into a residence hall with an infirmary area. The private rooms are furnished with vanity dressers, tables and settees; each has a large private wardrobe and hot and cold water. A trained nurse is at all times in charge of the perfectly equipped infirmary. A secluded cottage (infirmary/guest house) on the campus, also in charge of a trained nurse, is used in case of contagious illness." Gertrude Hall, built in 1898, is also lauded in the 1926 College Bulletin: "In the basement is the service room fitted with the most convenient shampooing apparatus, irons, electric attachements, etc.--also cloak rooms, locker rooms, a stationery store, a confectionery store, and a kitchenette fully equipped for the serving of light lunches or 'spreads.' On the first floor are administration offices and the chemical and physical laboratories. . . On the second floor is the botanical laboratory and classrooms, well-lighted and each furnished with a special library open to the use of the students. The third floor provides airy pleasant dormitories for those who do not wish to rent private rooms." However, many of the activities of the college centered in the two new buildings, Teresa Hall and Sacred Heart Chapel, which were as up-to-date as Benedicta Arts Center and Regina Hall seem to us now - perhaps more so. Teresa Hall was the height of luxury! It had a library on 1st floor, an auditorium/study hall on 2nd floor, a rotunda (residence area) on 3rd and 4th floors (where some rooms had private baths and every bedroom had hot and cold water) and a gymnasium on the ground floor. (Gable, OSB) The chapel inspired by new architecture, very moderate baroque with its Carrara statues and Sienna marble pillars from Italy (and majestic, granite pillars from Rockville, MN), was a perfect example of its baroque type -- Newman's favorite. However, the college faculty was concerned about the later interior decorating of the chapel. In 1958, members of the art department, Sisters Johanna Becker and Jacquelyn Dubay as art consultants, helped the community restore some of the chapel's original lightness which had seemed so right in the beginning. (Gable, OSB)
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). Because the government opened the contract for any number of students to attend St. Benedict's Industrial School, an addition was constructed on the west end of Marmion Hall so that the building could accommodate 150 students. When in 1896, the government dropped the contract system of Indian education, the school remained open for two more years when it was forced to close due to lack of funds. The west addition to Marmion Hall was then converted to a school for little boys (ages 6-12), often referred to as "Bethlehem School for Boys." The sisters reserved the east end of Marmion for the formation of its new members (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, page 122).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). The fact that a room was already set aside for art in the late 1890s attests to the sisters' desire to cultivate the love of beauty. The academy catalogues show the variety of courses that were available including oil painting. St. Benedict's Academy (later College) has produced notable artists, for example, Sister Thomas Carey, among its faculty and students throughout its history (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). For those who wish to study painting, china decorating, or crafts, the art studios offer special inspiration. Sun-flooded rooms with paneled ceilings, richly carved, a wide fire-place with hand-painted tiles, rare statuary, including pieces from Beuron--all contribute an atmosphere calculated to inspire the student with love for her work (College Bulletins).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909. Though a far cry from the car and bus services now available for St. Benedict's Convent, this horse-drawn "bus" and a carriage were the only means of transportation for the sisters and the academy students in the early 1900s (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). New Munich began with a few small buildings built by two men, Burns and Sutton, in 1855. They also ran a small "wayside" inn for the stagecoach that ran north-south through this part of the county. The town gradually settled around the church built by the German Catholics. In 1879 three sisters came to New Munich to teach in the district school at the request of the pastor. The trustees and the people did not agree with this decision and hired a lay teacher. The pastor then opened a parochial school in the church basement, but attendance was very small and leaders of the antagonism made it almost impossible for the sisters to live there. Despite the set-backs, the sisters won the good will of the people so that the following year the school opened with over 100 children enrolled (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Olsenius, page 120; Jaakkola and Frericks, page 77).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (April 21, 1913). This close-up view of construction on the dome gives some insights into the dangers of working at such heights on an open scaffolding.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (December 16, 1912). An intricate maze of support was necessary to support the roof of such a large building as the chapel. The supports allowed ample room under the roof for a "crawl space" for maintenance work.
The Board of lay advisors includes (left to right:) Mother Rosamond Pratschner, Mrs. Rose Reilly, Ed Callahan, Dr. Joseph B. Gaida, Sister Claire Lynch, Joseph Matt, Dr. R. N. Jones, Francis Gross and Mrs. Robert Burns. It advised that the college to develop a 100-year plan which initiated the concept of a CSB building program.
The advisors listed in the 1938 College Bulletin for the years from 1934 to 1940 are: Francis Gross, chairman and former president of the North American Bank, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Frank Mulcahy, secretary of the Northwestern National Bank and Trust Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Joseph Matt, president of the Wanderer Printing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota; and Edward Callahan (not pictured), member of the Law Office of Smith and Callahan, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (July 23, 1912). With the completion of the pouring of the concrete for the floor of the chapel, steam-powered pulley towers were built for lifting building materials to the next levels, an ingenious labor-saving in this early period.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery, St. Joseph, Minnesota (May 5, 1913). The closed-in porch link on the first and second level and the open porch of the third level (roof of link) made the chapel an integral part of the convent.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel and Teresa Hall, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 17, 1912). Teresa Hall, the addition to the college, was constructed simultaneously with the chapel. Because it was located less that 100 feet from the site of the chapel, the same type of construction work could take place in both sites. However, because it was architecturally less complicated, the work on Teresa Hall progressed much more rapidly as can be noted in this photo where the walls of five levels have been completed while only the first level walls of the chapel were completed during the same period of time.
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). The convent-college joint facilities engendered a joint relationship that has mutually shaped these two entities. Even the daily schedule of the two was alike. The Sisters lives were intimately bound up with the academy and college students. The chief ministry of most of the Sisters living at the Motherhouse was devoted to student services. During the first fifty years of the college, 175 faculty members were Sisters--many of whom served on the faculty for 30-40 years. The convent/college facilities, and the management thereof, were shared as one until the college expanded southwestward and was physically separated from the convent. It is understandable that the public has a difficult time comprehending the reality of St. Benedict's Monastery and the College of Saint Benedict as two separate and independent corporations.
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). Some of the class of 1886-87 have been identified as left to right: 1. Pauline Roesler, 2. Edith Cowing, 3. Julia Kinck, 4. Lizzie Zapp, 5. Margaret Kerst, 6. Alta Letson, 7. Christina Schultz. Standing: 1. Sang, 2. Hammond, 3. Wright, 4. Irene Reed, 5. Sister Amata Macket, 6. Mary Rhodes, 7. Lizzie Wagner, 8. Amme Maurin, 9. Nellie Schultz, 10. L. Mutschleckner, 13. Cecilia Northman, 16. Sara Mercer, 17. Nellie McCabe. The academy was geared toward a liberal arts education. While there was no thought of training girls for a career, the intellectual, aesthetic, and moral training did include the practical. The home arts of cooking and baking were considered important in the training of young ladies (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, page 102).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). About half of the student body of the academy in 1882-1883 (those in the photograph wearing medals) were prospective candidates applying for membership in the Benedictine community. Some members of this class who became sisters are identified as follows: Top row: 3. Susan (Sister Rose) Kilduff, 5. Josephine (Sister Adalberta) Gerard. Second row: 2. Margaret (Sister Eleanor) Irving. Fourth row: 1. Mary (Sister Felicitas) Knapp, 2. Margaret (Sister Ethelburga ) Farrell. Second from bottom row seated on steps: 3. Sophia (S. Ehrentrude) Wessel, 4. Mary Magdalen (S. Ursula) Hoffmann. Bottom row seated on steps: 2. Emily (Sister) Cherrier, 3. Bridget (Sister Magdalen) Walker (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). The library became a vital part of the academy. It was one of the most inviting places on the campus -- one that encouraged the Benedictine tradition of love for learning. In the next addition to the academy/college (Teresa Hall in 1914), an entire floor was devoted to the library. Eventually, as the college expanded to the western portion of the campus, a separate building was constructed as the campus library (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). In boarding schools where living quarters were crowded, it was imperative to have a place where students could study in quiet. The study hall was supervised by one of the sisters in order to maintain quiet and to be of assistance to students doing their homework. This study hall in Cecilia Hall also served as the chapel until other wings were added to the convent to provide for larger chapels (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).