Jubilees

80 years 

Benedictine Sister Johnetta Maher 

By Sister Mary Josephine Torborg 

Sister Johnetta, now 100 years old, still enjoys life at the monastery. She grew up in Watersmeet, Mich. She followed the dream of her life and became a home economics teacher while she attended the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. She loved college life and at the same time was drawn to the Benedictine way of life which she saw exemplified in the faculty who taught her. In her sophomore year she entered the Benedictine community and continued her studies toward her degree in home economics. 

Sister Johnetta taught home economics at Stanbrook Hall and Cathedral High Schools in Duluth. She then taught home economics at the College of St. Scholastica for 33 years as an associate professor and chair of the department. She also served as chair of the behavioral arts and science division for eight years. One of her great accomplishments was the planning and introduction of the early childhood family education license program. St. Scholastica was one of the first institutions to receive licensure for this program in Minnesota. As a result of this work, she received the Burlington Northern Achievement Award. 

After retiring from the college, she became coordinator of events in the monastery dining room and oversaw the Heritage Room, a collection of antiques and works of art. In her spare time, she enjoyed crocheting baby afghans and making yarn kittens for the Christmas sale. She still enjoys playing a good game of Rummy. She remarked recently, “You are only as old as you feel you are.” 

60 Years 

Benedictine Sister Luella Wegscheid 

By Sister Luella Wegscheid 

As I reflect on the occasion of the 60th jubilee of my monastic profession, I consider the marvelous graces and blessings that have been mine. I am grateful for the strong Catholic upbringing and the lessons taught to me in how to be responsible. My parents and my siblings all had a part in this training. After my grade school years, I went to a Catholic boarding school, which was a new experience and my first time being away from home. It was a true learning experience for which I am grateful. 

After high school when I entered St. Scholastica Monastery, I experienced many blessings in an entirely new situation. I am grateful for the guidance of the individuals who were my formation directors. They helped me to smooth the rough edges and taught me many new ways of relating. 

As well, it has been a wonderful experience to meet and learn from so many different sisters. My varied work experiences have continued this process of learning that has resulted in countless blessings of working with so many great people as well as countless unexpected graces. There are too many graces and blessings to enumerate here. 

I thank God every day for the gift of my vocation and for the graces I have received. It would not have been possible to deal with the many challenges of living this life of dedication which I love. I thank my family, my friends, and the many wonderful people I have met who have made my life so rewarding. My prayer for all of you is that you receive the graces needed to live your life to the fullest. May we always remember that God loves us and is with us each day! Peace! 

Sister Sue Fortier 

By Sister Sue Fortier 

I was born during the month of independence when the sun was rising and flowers were coloring the earth, beautiful. My mother told me I immediately wanted to eat. So began my life’s journey on that warm summer day. My hunger for God, beauty, meaning, freedom, and love became the driving force in my life and put me on a path that has led me to this jubilee year. 

I grew up in North Minneapolis in a vivacious family of three sisters, two brothers, a nonconventional French father, and an Irish mother. Beyond our back yard was an open field of wildflowers where God came alive to me through beauty. It was the beauty I experienced while vacationing with my family on the North Shore that lured me to Duluth. Here I entered our Benedictine community along with 29 enthusiastic and idealistic young women. 

My life as a Benedictine woman has been rich. I became known as Sister Pacelli, a name nobody could pronounce. As with any commitment, I have been shaped through the joys, sorrows, and challenges that have faced me. I have been privileged to extend God’s healing love as a chaplain at St. Mary’s Medical Center, to teach children at Morgan Park, International Falls, South St. Paul, and Mahtomedi. Along with my family, friendships with people of all ages, walks of life, and spiritual backgrounds have played an integral and meaningful part in my life. Both in heaven and on earth, they continue to color my life with their presence, and I hold them in love and gratitude as I celebrate my diamond jubilee. 

Sister Jeanne Ann Weber 

By Sister Jeanne Ann Weber 

I grew up in North Minneapolis, the oldest of five children, and attended St. Bridget’s School which was staffed by Benedictine sisters from Duluth. I have many happy memories of friends, family, school days, and our neighborhood. After high school, I entered St. Scholastica Priory where I took formation classes, college classes, made new friends, and learned about the Benedictine way of life. During the l960s, I was a part of both the old and new church — the Vatican II church. These were times of great changes in the church, religious life, and society at large. 

My first ministries were in elementary school teaching, religious education, and pastoral ministry. I then began retreat ministry at McCabe Renewal Center in Duluth. Since 2005 I’ve been the community liturgist: one who guides our Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharist, and other rituals. Liturgy is the heart of our Benedictine way of life, and it is a privilege to be involved with this ministry. Two years ago, I was also asked to become the subprioress, and so became more involved in community activities, projects, and the Monastic Council. 

I appreciate the beauty of nature in our area. There I feel connected with God, others, and our whole cosmos. I like music, reading, and lectures/workshops, and there are many opportunities for enrichment on our campus and in Duluth. I am renewed through personal and community prayer, and God’s compassionate love for me, for all. I am blessed by the rhythm and life of this community. I am also blessed by family and friends and by the many opportunities and experiences that I have had. I had no idea of the amazing path that would unfold on this graced journey of Benedictine life with its sorrows, joys, and transformations. 

Sister Renata Liegey 

By Theresa Butler 

Sister Renata Liegey has lived a life of faith, kindness, creativity, and passion as a Benedictine sister. Born Margaret Louise (Peggy Lou) in 1932 in Karthus, Penn., she grew up in a devout Catholic family. Early in her life, she developed a passion for art, and after high school attended art classes in New York. For health reasons she was advised to go to Arizona for the winter and stayed in Phoenix for ten years, working as an X-ray technologist and studying with a sculptor. Drawn to the Duluth Benedictines by their devotion to the Eucharist and Divine Office, she professed first vows in 1963 and final vows in 1966, taking the name Sister Renata, which means “reborn.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in art at the College of St. Scholastica. 

She returned to Phoenix, where she lived with her sisters at St. Thomas the Apostle Convent, and taught art at Gerard High School. Returning to Minnesota, she helped form House of Peace, an ecumenical house of prayer in Winton. She was next sent to St. Gertrude’s School in Washington, D.C., to teach arts and crafts to developmentally challenged girls. She recalled, “This precious ministry, the memory of which I’ll always cherish, lasted some 18 years.” 

Following her time in Washington, D.C., Sister Renata spent two years at the Franciscan Center of Wholistic Living in Saint Paul and studied at the Minneapolis School of Massage and Body Work, becoming a certified massage therapist as well as a T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) instructor. For the next 20 years she ran her own business called Tranquil Touch and provided services at Woman Well to religious women from all parts of the globe who were taking part in sabbatical programs. 

In 2010, Sister Renata returned to the monastery and continued in a variety of ministries including spiritual direction, teaching Ta’i Chi Chih classes at McCabe and the monastery, and prayer ministry. She once said, “I gratefully give praise to God, whose Spirit continues to animate and guide me along my journey.” 

Sister Arlene Kleemann 

By Sister Therese Carson 

In 2021, Sister Arlene summed up her life: “God has gifted us with undeserved and infinite love, unlimited mercy, our very existence. It is all a gift. It is how God loves us. It is how we must love the world.” 

Born and raised in Chicago with her older brother, Sister Arlene became acquainted with the Benedictine sisters who taught at St. Timothy Parochial School. Each summer she would visit the sisters in their Chicago convent, and over time developed warm friendships with them. At age 14, she and other students traveled by train to visit the Priory of St. Scholastica in Duluth, where she was awed by its beauty and tranquility. After high school graduation in 1961 she entered the community as a postulant. “My friendships with the sisters brought me to Duluth, but it was my growing prayer life that made me stay.” 

She majored in elementary education at the College of St. Scholastica and taught at St. James School in Duluth for seven years, before being sent to Chicago to her home parish. She taught in the same rooms where she had once been an eager student. Eventually she and Sister Margaret Ann Glaudel (formerly Sister Lois Ann) began teaching at a Catholic academy in an impoverished neighborhood near the Loop, where most of the students are immigrant children from Africa. She also helped funnel donated household goods to the families. “We help them realize they are welcomed and loved. Though mostly non-Catholic, the children love saying their prayers with us in the morning, at meals, and when anyone in their families is sick. I love it all, but the last part is so important. Prayer builds community.” 

Sister Arlene and Sister Margaret Ann have said goodbye to their beloved Chicago and will return to Duluth this summer. We welcome them home, where they will be a blessing to the community.