BENEDICTINE SISTERS OF VIRGINIA
ANNOUNCE THE PUBLIC PHASE
OF CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOR NEW MONASTERY
BRISTOW, VA: (May 28, 2019) – The Benedictine Sisters of Virginia (BSV) are pleased to announce the public phase of its Jubilee Campaign: 150 Years and Building to fund a new monastery to replace their aging building. Saint Benedict Monastery in Bristow has served as the home of the sisters and the management epicenter of their ministries for 125 years. To date, the Jubilee Campaign has raised over $2 million, 67 percent of its $3-million-dollar goal.
The purpose of the Jubilee Campaign is to create a safe and healthy living environment for the vibrant community of 30 sisters and their in-house ministries. The current monastery, built in the 1960s, has a brick exterior that hides numerous infrastructural issues that fail to meet modern safety codes and are impossible to maintain, repair, or renovate effectively. The planned single-story, energy-efficient building will include private living space appropriate to the sisters’ monastic lifestyle as well as public spaces: a chapel to accommodate the growing congregation that gathers for prayer and worship with the sisters, parlors for spiritual direction and counseling services, and a multi-purpose room appropriate for meetings, programs, and events offered for the benefit of all in the community.
Leading the campaign efforts are Frank and Mary T. Wallmeyer, chairs of the Richmond Campaign Committee, and Jamie and Patty Baisden, chairs of the Northern Virginia Campaign Committee (NOVA). Honorary Chairs include Manassas City Mayor Hal Parrish and Sister Andrea Verchuck (NOVA), and Franco and Ruth Ambrogi and Sister Charlotte Lange (Richmond). The Baisdens kicked-off the campaign in September 2017 with a lead gift of $250,000.
“Through their many ministries, the Benedictine Sisters, individually and as a group, are making a positive difference in the local community,” said the Baisdens, who own QMT Windchimes in Manassas. “It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter where you are…if there’s a need, the sisters respond.”
The Jubilee Campaign has benefitted from the generosity of two Richmond couples, David and Christy Cottrell and Bill and Pam Royall, who made a joint $250,000 Matching Gift Challenge for new donations received after September 26, 2018. That challenge was completed on December 31, 2018 and raised $410,406!
“The sisters are selfless, never asking for anything for themselves and always serving those in need. The thought of them living in a building that doesn’t provide warmth in the winter or relief from Virginia’s often-tropical summers is very disturbing to us,” said David Cottrell. “When I visited the monastery last summer I saw the windows in the infirmary and immediately recognized that, God forbid, in case of fire, rescue workers would not be able to reach the most elderly and ailing sisters or have the ability to extract them from their rooms. We knew we had to do something that would bolster this campaign, so Bill and I decided to collaborate on the Matching Gift Challenge.”
With the launch of the public phase, Leslie Stack and Frank Rizzo of Richmond, and Lovey Hammel and Jana Yeates of Manassas have made a joint contribution of $100,000 for a second match challenge. All gifts to the Jubilee Campaign received May 28 through July 31 will be matched, doubling each donor gift.
“We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us and our ministries through the years,” said Sister Joanna Burley, newly elected Prioress of the Benedictine sisters. “Now we, ourselves, are in need of a bit of direct assistance, so that we can carry on our tradition of service to the local community. The generosity already received from so many people is evidence of the faith they have in our work today and in our future.”
Construction on the building is projected to start by the end of 2019.
To donate to the Jubilee Campaign, visit osbva.org, or contact:
Marianne Racca
BSV Development Director
571.428.2575
Our Contact Information
Benedictine Sisters of Virginia
9535 Linton Hall Road
Bristow, VA 20136
571-428-2504
www.osbva.org
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