Missionary Benedictine Sisters welcome Jubilee pilgrims

Missionary Benedictine Sister Cecilia Polt, 93, gives new life to dead flowers, transforming them into a beautiful tool for Catholic prayer.

For 25 years, Sister Cecilia has been grinding up rose petals to create rosary beads.

With her handy needle-nose pliers, she assembles the rosaries, stringing the beads on a chain and affixing a Crucifix and a St. Benedict medal.

“I love to pray the rosary,” said Sister Cecilia, who was born on a farm near Pierce on Christmas Eve. “And I love to help others pray it. And the best way I can do that is to make precious rosaries that they will just treasure.”

Sister Cecilia is one of about 30 Missionary Benedictine Sisters who live and work at the Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center located in the heart of Norfolk.

The monastery has been designated a Jubilee Year pilgrimage site in the Archdiocese of Omaha. Other pilgrimage sites: St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, St. Anthony Church in Cedar Rapids, Holy Family Shrine in Gretna, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Lynch, Immaculate Conception Church in St. Helena, St. Benedict Center in Schuyler and St. Augustine Mission Church in Winnebago. 

The Missionary Benedictine Sisters invite visitors to see the monastery and learn who they are and what they do.

A Mary garden at the Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center features water fountains and flowers, a place for rest, prayer and contemplation. JOE DEJKA

Officially, they represent the Norfolk Priory of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, part of an international community of monastic women.

While embracing the contemplative life, they are also missionaries, performing outreach here in various ways such as education, spiritual direction, homebound visiting and ministries for youth and adults.

Their prioress – Sister Gabrielle Marie Oestreich – oversees the day-to-day operations. Here in Nebraska, the sisters work hand-in-hand with the archdiocese.

Catholics who make a pilgrimage to the monastery can worship at Mass with the sisters, join them in prayer or just chat with them about their lives and mission. In the main chapel, mounted above the altar, is a large wooden cross fixed within a circle, the symbol of their worldwide mission.

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Visitors may find sisters sewing scraps of fabric into useful items. Pilgrims can also pick up a gift or book in the store of the spirituality center.

The center, which has overnight accommodations for retreatants, serves northeast Nebraska. The sisters provide spiritual direction and host various groups and meetings such as Christians Encounter Christ, Engaged and Marriage Encounters and enrichment courses.

The grounds around the monastery offer opportunities for prayer and contemplation, including an orchard, several gardens, a prayer labyrinth and Stations of Light – the latter similar to Stations of the Cross where people can walk and pause to pray at stations that showcase significant post-Resurrection events.

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In one room at the monastery, sisters turn scraps of fabric into useful items such as quilts, purses, aprons and hot pads.

People donate unwanted fabric scraps, which arrive in all sizes and colors.

On a recent day, Sister Jania Maria Keogh, a former teacher, was busy sorting and cutting the fabric.

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“We get all sorts of pieces, and what we do is put them together in different ways, little quilts, lap rugs that go for the poor, bigger ones that go for the poor. We do sell some. We do a lot of things with people’s scraps.”

“I have the fun of trying to make aprons out of it all,” she said.

Sister Sarah Elizabeth McMahon, vocation directress, said the sisters regularly hold “Come and See” events for young women interested in a religious vocation to learn what the sisters are all about.

The next scheduled event is Oct. 3-5. More information is on the website, www.mbsmissionaries.org.

Missionary Benedictine Sister Sarah Elizabeth McMahon, vocation directress at the Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center, stands before a stained glass image with the inscription “Salve Virgo Sapiens,” which means “Hail, Virgin, Full of Wisdom.” JOE DEJKA

The Missionary Benedictine Sisters started in Germany, went to Tanzania and then, as invited, spread throughout the world. They now work in 16 countries.

Many of the spaces inside the monastery have artwork representing the far-flung places they’ve worked. There’s a wall inside the center that details their history around the world and in the United States. 

The sisters were invited to Nebraska by Bishop Jeremiah Harty to minister to German immigrants. In 1923, the sisters began teaching at St. John Berchmans School in Raeville.

In 1940, the priory in Raeville was transferred to Norfolk.

The sisters balance their day with prayer and leisure. They come together four times a day for common prayer – morning, day, evening and night – a schedule known as Liturgy of the Hours.

During a visit, pilgrims can visit Sister Cecilia’s workshop and possibly catch her at work.

Missionary Benedictine Sister Cecilia Polt, 93, said she never tires of making rosaries from rose petals, something she’s done for 25 years. The Nebraska native makes the rosary beads at Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center with a recipe she says guarantees durable beads. JOE DEJKA

Her recipe for making rosary beads involves mixing powdered rose petals, water and sugar and fermenting the mash. That makes strong beads, she said. When the water evaporates, the mash takes on the consistency of cookie dough. She pushes the dough into holes in a tray, pops them out and forms each bead.  She pokes the dough balls with a wire to make the hole, then dries them with a fan.

This rosary, made at Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center, shows the variation of the handmade beads. JOE DEJKA

Because the beads are formed by hand, each one is unique, varying slightly in size and shape.

Each phase must be done right, she said. 

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I never get tired of it,” Sister Cecilia said.

Sister Cecilia uses needle-nose pliers to assemble a rosary. JOE DEJKA

In some cases, the rosaries have extra-special meaning. For instance, people will send her roses from the funeral of a loved one.

“That rosary becomes their memorial,” she said. “And they tell me it just feels like the deceased person is there with me praying. Now what more could I want to do than help others pray the rosary?”

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Missionary Benedictine Sister Pia Rottinghaus manages the book and gift shop inside the Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center. Some of the items for sale are crafted by sisters. JOE DEJKA

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People who visit or attend retreats or meetings at the Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center will discover accents like this “Sleeping Joseph” statue throughout the building. JOE DEJKA

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