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Current News ArticlesSister Michaela Hedican Named Prioress-Elect Of Saint Bede Monastery Benedictines Join Area Churches In Promoting Justice and Peace Sister Roma Paulus, OSB, Celebrates 98th Birthday Benedictine Sisters at Saint Bede Plan for Sale of Their Property Sister Michaela Hedican Named Prioress-Elect Of Saint Bede Monastery
Sister Michaela, to formally be installed as prioress here on Sunday, June 8, currently is president of the Federation of Saint Benedict, an association of 12 monasteries in the U.S. and abroad. Her administrative team will be announced prior to the installation ceremony. The event will be presided over by Sister Nancy Bauer, Prioress of Saint Benedict's Monastery at St. Joseph, MN, and vice president of the Federation of Saint Benedict. Sister Margaret, a widely known Biblical expert and teacher, had not sought a sixth term as prioress. Sister Michaela will be wonderful, "Sister Margaret said, referring to her friend and colleague's widely appreciated gifts as a creative and innovative spiritual and organizational leader. She is greatly loved and respected by our Sisters, colleagues and the lay community." A native of Virginia, MN, Sister Michaela is a 1963 graduate of Regis High School. She has a degree from the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, a master's degree in religious education from Seattle (WA) University and another in monastic studies from St. John's University, Collegeville, MN. She has taught middle school religion and science, provided religion classes and spiritual direction for adults, served as Subprioress and is co-founder and a former director of Saint Bede’s retreat and conference center. Since her election as Federation President in 2003, Sister Michaela has traveled widely, working with eight Benedictine communities in the U.S. and four others in the Bahamas, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Sister Michaela expressed gratitude to her community and colleagues, noting that her transition from Federation President to Prioress will be accomplished with help from Sister Margaret, others in her community and the Federation's four council members. Asked about the changes facing a community that has grown older and fewer – one now working to sell its property and relocate to a more manageable site – Sister Michaela said, “God is always with us. Prayer has always has been the medium through which God guides us in meeting new challenges.” She said she daily takes joy in the community’s gatherings for prayer, meals and friendship, and takes strength from the 1,500-year traditions of Benedictine monasticism. At age seven, Sister Michaela noted, she already knew that God was calling her to Benedictine life. Inspiration first came from her St. Scholastica grade school teachers from Duluth, later by the Saint Bede Sisters who taught her at Regis High School in Eau Claire. Her family, including two brothers and two sisters, moved here when her father began a new job. While completing high school, Sister Michaela joined the community at age 16, living with the Benedictines at their former Wilson Street motherhouse. During those days, she recalls watching the construction of today’s Saint Bede Monastery, which opened in 1964. Her Regis High homeroom teacher then was Sister Monica Mai, a former prioress here who now ministers with the chaplaincy staff of Eau Claire's Sacred Heart Hospital. "I already saw her skill at organizing many activities and in being involved with her whole heart and soul," Sister Monica told a Leader-Telegram reporter who was writing about Sister Michaela in 1989. "She's a team player. She very much likes to see things succeed. She sees human nature, both weaknesses and strengths…and sees how human beings relate to the God she believes in." Benedictines Join Area Churches In Promoting Justice and Peace
Unifying people of faith in promoting skills and attitudes will enable this group to have a power voice in our community, our region and beyond. JONAH is part of a statewide organization, WISDOM, which provides training in organizing, leadership, and relationship building through a national network, Gamaliel. Issues that have been addressed in other areas of Wisconsin are schools, alternatives to prison for non-violent offenders and a fair, compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform. At a March 8th meeting JONAH will identify the local issues to be addressed. The JONAH Board has representation from each of the participating congregations. Core members for the Monastery are Sisters Margaret Michaud, Prioress, Mary Pattison, Mary Frances Gebhard and Marjorie Hill. Sister Margaret will serve on the Religious Leaders Table and Sister Mary Fran serves on the executive committee and the board as secretary. In the organizational phase for more than a year, JONAH has participated in health care forums; support of the Drug Court in Eau Claire County; and securing funding for TIP (Treatment Instead of Prison) in the state. Prison reform has been initially identified as an issue that needs addressing at the local level. Several members of the group toured the county jail and noted the overcrowding there and also the presence of cell blocks for the mentally ill who are jailed because there is no other alternative for them. JONAH, a reference to the huge challenge faced by the biblical character swallowed by the big fish, will plan a series of meetings to attract and train members and gain donor support for peace and justice initiatives that "unite congregations to build better communities." A Privilege to Serve
I find care giving a challenging ministry which gives many opportunities to carry out our Lord's command to "love one another." For He said, "I was sick and you visited me." (Matt. 25:36) and "What you did for one of these least brothers you did for Me." (Matt. 25:40). These quotes found in St. Matthew's Gospel and in our Rule of Saint Benedict are challenging words for me in my ministry of pastoral care. I find my life as a religious sister to be a great support for my ministry as a pastoral leader. My community enriches my life with the many opportunities of spiritual help through Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, Scripture, meditation and participation in conferences, workshops, plus the support of my fellow religious. These enriching experiences give me the energy to continue in my ministry to our sick and elderly. Having grown up and taught in this area has given me a base in communicating with many of our residents. I also consider being in their age bracket a plus when it comes to understanding residents and what they are trying to tell me. Our older generation was accustomed to attending church services and so they appreciate the opportunity for prayer services at this time in their lives. (Maybe more so than our younger generation.) All of us have a need for someone to listen to us as we walk on our earthly journey. Likewise, many residents want to be listened to, respected and understood. It is the cry of all humans to want to be heard, especially the elderly. They have wisdom and great stories to tell. It is rewarding to see joy on their faces when they feel loved, cared for or having someone present to listen to their stories. Listening to the wonderful things they've done in their lives helps bring respect for who they are. I feel it is a profound privilege to be with people in their last illness and death. Likewise, to be present for their families or loved ones. Praying for and with them means much to them and works both ways, giving comfort also to the care giver. I find this ministry to be very rewarding. Sister Roma Paulus, OSB, Celebrates 98th Birthday
Influenced by a late sibling, Moira, she joined Saint Benedict's convent at St. Joseph, MN and was among the 83 Benedictine volunteers who founded the Saint Bede community in Eau Claire in 1948. Sister Roma had a long and varied ministry as a teacher and administrator in Diocese of La Crosse schools. "She was somewhat like a mother to us all," said Sister Roma’s brother Cornelius "Buck" Paulus, 90, who lives in Cape Coral Florida. "She did everything on our farm – milking, hay mowing, grain shucking," he added. "She was always a reader who knew the value of an education. Gee, I could write a history about her." Sister Roma celebrated her 60th Jubilee in 2001. Now living at Clairemont Nursing and Rehabilitation in Eau Claire with eight other Benedictines she continues to draw the love and admiration of colleagues, visitors and countless friends. Sister Ruth Feeney, coordinator of the Clairemont Sisters' Unit, termed Sister "vibrant and generous. She makes a point to spend time with Sister Haroldine (Malinowski). She also volunteers to wash tables after meals and is gracious and welcoming to guests. She's very social." Sister Roma, she added, still enjoys daily walks, using a walker with wheels indoors and two canes when exercising outside. Benedictine Sisters at Saint Bede Plan for Sale of Their Property
"We have made a realistic decision, given the fact that we are fewer and older," said Sister Margaret. "Seventeen Sisters live at the monastery and seven live in this area, elsewhere in Wisconsin and in three other states. Ten of our Sisters live in nursing homes." She said the decision to seek more manageable quarters is based on advice by religious and lay friends, financial analysis of the Sisters' operations costs for their distinctive monastery, chapel and retreat and conference center, which they built in 1964. The Saint Bede community was established in Eau Claire with 83 members in 1948. By the 1960s, the Sisters who were active in schools, parishes and health care facilities, numbered about 115. That growth prompted the establishment of today's Saint Bede Monastery on rural land just south of the city. Sister Margaret said there is no timeline for selling the property. "A prospective buyer need not be Catholic," she said. "But, ideally, the buyer should plan to use the property according to a philosophy we can agree with." In addition to changed space requirements, she added, the Sisters are coping with rising costs of operating their monastery and retreat and conference center and updated projections that their donor supported retirement plan "could be used up in a number of years." At their next planning session on August 26, the Sisters will discuss options for new places of residence for the community. "We have people to talk with," Sister Margaret said. Whatever the decisions based on future relocation, she added, the Benedictines will maintain their peaceful daily rhythm of prayer, liturgy and gracious hospitality. Noting that the Sisters feel confident about their decision, Sister Margaret summed up the community's mood by adding, "We are very interested in any ways that we can serve others." For more information, please contact Sister Margaret at (715) 834-3176. |
Eau Claire – Sister Michaela Hedican on Saturday, March 1, was named prioress-elect after prayerful discernment by the Benedictine Sisters of Saint Bede Monastery. Sister Michaela, who was professed in 1964, succeeds Sister Margaret Michaud, who in June will complete her fifth four-year term as prioress of this 34-member Benedictine community.
Recently, Saint Bede Monastery became a charter member of JONAH (Joining Our Neighbors Advancing Hope), an organization whose goal is to organize various faith groups who can respond to the justice and peace issues of the local community. Seven other congregations from the Chippewa Valley are also charter members.
(A Benedictine for 62 years, Sister Mary Jane responded with the following thoughts when asked to describe her work as a chaplain and caregiver at Oakwood Villa Nursing and Rehabilitation at Altoona, WI. Before beginning her current assignment in 1994, Sister Mary Jane's ministries included 45 years' service as a teacher in Diocese of La Crosse schools.)
Benedictines, family and friends gathered at Clairemont on February 24 to celebrate the 98th birthday of this community's most senior member. Sister Roma Paulus grew up in a large farming family near Eau Claire. Later she earned a teaching degree from the former Eau Claire State Teachers College and taught in area country schools.
Eau Claire, WI— Strategic planning, begun at Saint Bede Monastery about seven years ago, has led to a recent decision to seek the eventual sale of the Benedictines' 112-acre property, according to Sister Margaret Michaud, Prioress.