As social, political and cultural changes swept the nation, they arrived as well within the convents of the Upper Mississippi River Valley. By 1965, Sisters here had begun responding to the changes, and to the urging of the Second Vatican Council to reflect on and renew their customs and habits. They were urged as well to remember the original reason for their founding, while recognizing and adapting to the signs of the times. 

For the cloistered Trappistine Nuns near Dubuque and Carmelite Nuns in Eldridge, Iowa - whose chief ministry had always been prayer - changes were more internal than external, affecting private and prayer life rather than outside ministry. For active communities, the changes were more profound.

New Habits of Life

For the Benedictines, the 1960's ushered in major changes. Having been established 1500 years prior to seek God in monastic enclosure, this community had taken up the active ministry of teaching in response to the need of pioneer Americans. Now, reflecting on the Rule of Benedict, the Sisters began reclaiming their contemplative origins while eliminating outmoded customs. They placed greater emphasis on private and communal prayer. They began sharing their spirituality more formally with the public, through various spiritual retreats and spiritual direction. And they transitioned to the dress of the common people.

The apostolic communities from the area - the Franciscans, the Presentations, the BVMs, the CHMs, the Mercies, the Visitations and the Dominicans - experienced equally profound changes. At first dressed in a modified habit and eventually transitioning to the common dress of the time, most continued moving out of the classrooms and hospital wards and toward the underserved and neglected populations of the area, country and world.

 

Civil Rights became a chief concern of religious communities. In Nauvoo, above left, the Benedictines marched in demonstrations, while Sr. Barbara Vaughn, OSB taught in Birmingham.

Race relations took center stage during the 60's. While some area Sisters marched in support of Civil Rights in distant towns, others organized marches and demonstrations at home.

A Dubuque Franciscan Sister was struck with a brick during a march in Chicago, while the Benedictine Sisters marched through the streets of Nauvoo, observing townspeople peering out from behind windows and doors. Other area Sisters, including Sr. Barbara Vaugn, OSB, left home for positions in historically black colleges to allow African-American faculty time off from teaching to earn advanced degrees.

In Clinton, an ecumenical organization named Inter-Faith/Inter-Race impelled the Franciscan Sisters out of their convents and onto the streets in support of Civil Rights. Eventually, their demonstrations grew to embrace additional groups, resulting in boycotting lettuce in support of California Farm Workers. Eventually, as the Viet Nam War dragged on, the protests became centered on peace.

By 1969, the BVM Sisters had formally pledged their intention to work on such issues as race relations, poverty and peace. In Davenport, Iowa, a collaborative Sisters' Council - one of the first in the U. S. - was formed to wrestle with these issues.


Many communities, including the Benedictines, above, first adopted a modified habit before transitioning to clothing of the common people, in response to the call of Vatican II to dress according to "the circumstances of time and place."

Sisters worked to alleviate the worst symptoms of poverty by founding food pantries, transitional housing opportunities, adult education programs and other programs designed to help underserved populations become self-sufficient. From the CHMs' Humility of Mary Housing in Davenport to Dubuque's Maria House and Teresa Shelter - a transitional residence jointly sponsored by 6 Sisters' communities - Sisters sought to solve both immediate and long-term problems.

The Mercy Sisters' Catherine McAuley Center, Cedar Rapids, is a case in point. Created in part to provide transitional housing and counseling for women, it also was established to provide basic education for adults. Today, students are able to improve their English speaking skills, work toward a GED, and complete course work for the U.S. Citizenship test. They take an important step toward both self-sufficiency and becoming contributing members of the community.

Religious Life Today

Today's Sisters along the Upper Mississippi River Valley continue to minister to the underserved and overlooked; to the vulnerable and marginalized, with prayer and services. Here are a few examples:

Sisters provide services, advocacy and educational opportunities to immigrants from Guatemala to Bosnia. They work for immigration reform. They provide medical care, legal clinics, bill payment and other critical services.

Sisters have established and operate shelters for victims of domestic violence and/or homelessness, such as the transitional housing resource St. Joseph House in Rock Island, supported in part by the Benedictines. Sisters also run food pantries, provide educational opportunities and tutoring, and work with mentally-disabled persons to help provide dignity and self-sufficiency.

Sisters also minister to the spirit. Nearly every community offers ecumenical spiritual retreats and programs for individuals as well as groups. Many, as the Benedictine Sisters, also offer spiritual direction.

Sisters work to protect the earth by adopting geothermal heating and cooling systems and driving hybrid cars. They sponsor environmental programs and use green construction methods. They tend acres of prairie grass and protect wetlands and woodlands.

Today, Upper Mississippi River Valley Sisters continue to work ceaselessly to bring justice, hope and peace to all of God's creation, from here at home to the ends of the globe. From offering prayer to digging wells and providing spiritual retreats to helping write legislation to address such issues as human trafficking, the Sisters continue to do what they always have done: they respond to the need that is greatest.

 Learn about the differences between Apostolic communities and the Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery!