Sister Maria One Of Many Who Have Served Our Diocese For Generations
Having Sr. Maria Tasto as my retreat director was always an inspiring experience, which did not mean she would not challenge me to look at things in my life and ministry when necessary. A director attempts to listen to God’s Spirit working in the retreatant’s life, helping him/her to become more sensitive to the Spirit’s inspirations. In this way, the retreat participant is free to choose to grow in God’s divine life.
This dynamic also happens in the RCIA as we help new members listen to the movements of God’s Spirit in their lives so as to live as Christ’s disciples. This is a life-long process.
In addition to having Sister Maria as my director, I always enjoyed being “at home” at the Monastery Immaculate Conception thanks to the sisters’ well-known hospitality and the monastery bells. The bells would always remind me when it was time to celebrate Mass and pray the Divine Office with the sisters in their chapel – Morning Prayer, Noon Day, and Evening Prayer. The bells drew the community together. They are a symbol of God’s voice inviting us to gather during the day to spend time with one another in prayer. Thus, the entire day became permeated with God’s presence.
The sisters sat in the front pews, and the guests/retreat participants sat behind them. Praying with the sisters was a blessed experience whenever I made a retreat there. Sitting behind them before prayer began, I would recognize sisters who had taught me at St. Joseph Grade School, and others I came to know through the years as a priest in various parishes and diocesan ministries. One morning, my heart was moved with tremendous gratitude for the dedication of these holy women who had so faithfully served our diocese. Most of them were “retired” but not really; they were still working around the monastery and always, if possible, in the prayer ministry.
Our diocese owes a debt of gratitude to all sisters who have served our diocese when it was part of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and after becoming the Diocese of Evansville in 1944. I knew the Benedictine Sisters best since they were stationed at my home parish and their “mother house” (so called in those days) was located within our diocese. But we were also served by the Little Sisters of the Poor, Poor Clares, Sisters of Providence, Franciscans, Ursulines, and Daughters of Charity in St. Mary’s Medical Center.
God help me if I have forgotten any other Sisters who made an impact in our diocese!
The largest order of sisters located within our diocese, of course is the Sisters of St. Benedict. At one time, more than 500 sisters were at the Monastery Immaculate Conception. They taught mainly in our schools, but also operated St. Joseph Hospital in Huntingburg.
If it hadn’t been for the hard work of these sisters, our Catholic schools would not be what they are today. At great cost to themselves, each sister received a very minimal salary of about $600 per year without the benefits of Social Security. In the 1960s, they paid a huge sum of money to enroll in Social Security to receive benefits.
Because of their meager salaries, many orders of sisters today face serious financial difficulties as the number of elderly sisters increases and fewer women enter religious life. This is something to remember as the annual collection for religious occurs in December, or as sisters send out letters asking for assistance today.
My siblings and I received a remarkable education from the Sisters of St. Benedict. I’m sure that everyone who was taught by them or other sisters can say the same. Thank you, Sisters, for a life spent in service to the People of God in Southwestern Indiana.
