The current Benedictine Sisters' Mount St. Scholastica convent was built in 1900, and still serves the sisters in 2017, and beyond.
In 2017 the sisters hosted a large group of eclipse-watchers, and we were able to take some photographs of the grounds.
From the Catholic Key website: (
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"Benedictine Sisters Of Mount St. Scholastica Celebrate 150 Years
Posted by The Catholic Key on 10:02 am in Catholic Key, News
By Marty Denzer
Catholic key Reporter
KANSAS CITY — In the 150 years since the Benedictine Sisters arrived in Atchison, Kan., to open a school at the request of the prior of St. Benedict’s Abbey, they have established and/or served in schools and parishes, health care and senior living facilities, and made many friends in both Kansas and Missouri.
Atchison, just across the Missouri River from St. Joseph, was settled in 1854 by immigrants from Missouri, incorporated in 1855, and reincorporated as a city in 1859.
In 1856, at the request of John B. Miege, S.J., Vicar Apostolic of Leavenworth, two Benedictine monks from St. Vincent’s Arch-abbey in Latrobe, Penn., arrived in Atchison to open a school for Kansas pioneers. In 1858, the monks opened St. Benedict’s College, a boarding school with six students. The college offered classical academics in preparation for the priesthood, as well as a commercial course of study.
Several years later, Father Augustine Wirth, prior, requested a group of Benedictine Sisters of the St. Cloud, Minn., community relocate to Atchison and open a school.
In remarks Nov. 10, the vigil before the year-long sesquicentennial celebration at Mount St. Scholastica Monastery opened, Sister Anne Shepard, prioress, described those sisters.
“Our foundresses from their poverty contributed all they had, their whole livelihood. … Seven sisters ventured here … to be a monastic witness in the wilderness of Kansas. … young, idealistic, creative, frugal, other-centered, and adventurous.”
The sisters arrived by ferry Nov. 11, 1863, which was recounted a century later in “The Meaning of the Mountain,” by Sister Mary Faith Schuster.
“The [Civil] war had brought restlessness and fomented all manner of misunderstanding. Mr. Finney, the wharfmaster, had heard of threats to burn down the house if sisters came. The house that stood at Second and Division Street, a stately little building … Besides the personal safety of the sisters, it was important that the house be protected … That night, an hour before midnight, James Kennedy and Lambert Halling, carpenters for the abbey, were swinging lanterns up and down the street in front of the newly built convent. … The sisters were aware of no worry that night. To the swinging of the friendly lanterns, they reached the convent … as long as they lived, they would remember the stagecoach, the river, the singing as they came, and … that lights were lit for their arrival.” In commemoration of those lights, a lit lantern is used as their sesquicentennial symbol.
The sisters wasted no time in honoring the prior’s request. St. Scholastica’s Academy, named for St. Benedict’s twin sister, opened Dec.1, 1863, with 44 students enrolled.
In 1877, the sisters purchased at public auction, Price Villa, the home of Judge John Price, and moved from their original location near St. Benedict’s Abbey. The former villa, renamed St. Cecilia’s, housed Mount St. Scholastica Monastery and the academy.
A 1915 history of Atchison County describes the academy’s curriculum. “A most comprehensive plan of study is pursued at Mt. St. Scholastica … all branches needful for a thorough, liberal and refined education, the outcome of long years of experience … That this … is appreciated … may be seen by consulting the academy roster, which records a long list of names from many sections of the country. Besides the … classical course, Mt. St. Scholastica furnishes a complete commercial course, together with special advantages for the study of music and art.”
It continues. “The home life of Mt. St. Scholastica is ideal. The association of fellow students amid wholesome environments … bring out and develop every noble and womanly quality, while the beneficent and judicious guidance of the Sisters … leads to the attainment of those … principles so needful to right living.”
By the early 1890s, the sisters had carried their mission to other parts of Kansas, to Nebraska, Colorado and Iowa, and across the river to Missouri.
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Mount St. Scholastica monastery and the choir chapel in use today were built in 1900. The sisters were glad for the larger quarters a few years later. Between 1904 and 1906, Mount St. Scholastica received eight French sisters, refugees from the anti-Catholic campaigns of the Third Republic under Emile Combes. By 1905, most Catholic institutions were closed and the clergy and religious expelled from France.
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The 1970s brought changes to the Mount. The Benedictine sisters and monks had long collaborated in the ministries of St. Benedict’s and Mount St. Scholastica colleges. In 1971, they merged to form Benedictine College, on the campus of St. Benedict’s Abbey. Major renovations in 2010 transformed St. Cecilia’s, the Mount’s former academy building, into housing for monastery guests and retreatants.
The sisters remain committed to education. “Just about everything we do has a strong educational element,” Sister Anne said. “Our work with women at Keeler Women’s Center, with literacy, substance abuse, job training, knitting, spiritual direction, etc. has many educational components … Our counselors teach coping skills and self esteem. We teach music. And we still have sisters in formal Catholic education at all levels. All are committed, competent and compassionate.” She herself is a past diocesan superintendent of schools for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese. Keeler Women’s Center, which serves women and men metro wide, is directed by Sister Carol Ann Peterson, a former associate superintendent of schools in this diocese.
The community began their anniversary with a vigil Mass, Nov. 10, 2012. A number of events have already occurred. Kansas City Day, a celebration with families, friends and alumni, will be Sept. 15. A 2 p.m., Mass will be celebrated at St. Pius X Church in Mission, Kan., followed by a reception in the parish hall.
On Nov. 10, the eve of the final day of the 150th year, the sisters will celebrate together.
“The year has brought us together as a community,” Sister Anne said. “We have prayed and laughed a great deal.”
The next century waits. Sister Anne said, “At our anniversary assembly at Benedictine College, a student asked me about the future. ‘How long will you be around?’ I answered, ‘We came to Atchison to do a work that wasn’t being done. We have continued to respond to God’s call as the years passed. I suspect that if we stay open to the Spirit and faithful to the monastic way of life, we will be here at least another 150 years. Working for and with the people of God is a great ministry.’”