Council InstallationSisters Veronica Joyner & Andrea Verchuck receive candle as part of installation ceremony
JubilariansSisters Anita (75 years, not pictured), Henry Marie, Mary Patricia, Anne Marie (all 50 years), and Miki (25 years) renew their profession at the Jubilee celebration June 2011.
LabyrinthSt Gertrude High School students walk the labyrinth as they visit the Place of Peace at St Benedict Monastery
Live-InsJulia, Ana and Sarah at the novice ceremony (January 2012)
Receiving a blessingSister Mary receives a blessing from the community as she becomes a novice (September 2010)
New NoviceSister Mary Frances (center) becomes a novice of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia (January 2012)
Seeking GodJoanna walks with friend to monastery to knock on the door asking for entrance to seek God in this community (January 2011)
Sister Patricia Annein her classroom at Linton Hall School
A BlessingSisters sing a blessing before our Thanksgiving meal.
Sister Veronicaplays the flute as the schola sings at Easter Services
We are a community of thirty-four women living The Rule of Benedict, supporting one another in our mutual search for God and ministering to the needs of the Church in Virginia since 1868.
Our daily life in the monastery is comprised of communal prayer, meaningful ministry and the sharing of life in common. Praying the psalms, or the Liturgy of the Hours, at morning, midday and evening, we bring the needs of our world to the timeless praise of God.
Our ministries, as diverse as the individuals who bring them to life, include: a transitional housing program for homeless women and their children (Transitional Housing BARN), an adult literacy project (BEACON), a pastoral center (Benedictine Pastoral Center), a counseling center providing service on a sliding scale (BCS), an elementary school (Linton Hall), and a secondary school for young women in the city of Richmond (Saint Gertrude High School).
Common meals, household chores, and holy leisure round out the monastic life. Essentially, we are sanctified by the daily - by seeking God in the everyday moments of life lived simply with gratitude and joy.