Winter – Spring 2025 Update
Farewell to our beloved Bishop
Bishop Edward Weisenburger has been bishop of our Tucson Diocese since 2017. Recently Pope Francis named him the sixth archbishop of Detroit. Bishop Weisenburger has been such a good bishop for our diocese and a good friend to our community here at Santa Rita Abbey. We, along with many others throughout our diocese, will miss him very much! On March 3, the archbishop-elect came for Mass and a meal with us. The above photo is our last community photograph with him. We promised to keep him in our daily prayers as he takes on his new responsibilities.
Who’s that new Sister?
Yes, there is a new Sister in that photo. Sr. Bonitas was an unexpected Christmas gift at the end of December. Sent from our motherhouse, Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey, to help out for a few months, she is quite taken with our little monastery in the southern Arizona desert. Sr. Bonitas does everything from singing the Divine Office with us to baking altar breads and helping us design our new website. How grateful we are to Mother Sofia at Mt. St. Mary’s and to Divine Providence!
But aren’t there a few Sisters missing from that group photograph?
Yes, our two eldest Sisters, Clare and Miriam, ages 97 and 91 respectively, have moved to Handmaker, a nursing home in Tucson. This is the same facility which took such good care of our Sisters Kate, Jacqui and Margarita in 2024. While we are sad that Srs. Clare and Miriam no longer live here in the monastery with us, we know that they are receiving better care at Handmaker than we could provide here. Archbishop-elect Weisenburger paid them a pastoral visit not long ago, taking time out of his increasingly complex schedule to personally administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.
And what about Sr. Hildegard?
Sr. Hildegard is also missing from the above photograph. She entered our community in 2019 and became a permanent member in June 2022. However, last year US immigration rules required her to leave the US for one year. She returned to her native Kenya in July where she is enjoying visiting her family and studying at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. She stays faithful to a monastic lifestyle as much as possible, but longs to come home again to our monastery. Please pray for the successful renewal of her visa so that she can return to our community this coming July.
New Vocations – and an upcoming Monastic Experience Weekend
At present we have several younger women interested in living the monastic life here at Santa Rita. One of them, Lauren, has visited us several times over the last months. She is planning to return for her observership this summer. As an observer, she will live in the monastic enclosure with us and actively participate in all aspects of our life. She has already had a taste of working with us at altar breads and around the monastery, and on her most recent visit Mother Vicki invited her into the monastic choir to pray the Divine Office with us.
We are planning two Monastic Experience Weekends this year, April 25-28 and October 3-6. These weekends are for single Catholic women ages 21 to 40 who are discerning their vocation. Participants pray the Divine Office with us, learn about our contemplative way of life, have Q&A sessions with our vocation team, and enjoy ample time for quiet prayer, reading and reflection. There is no cost for these weekends and no strings attached. Please help us spread the word to young women in your parish! Interested yourself? Contact our Vocation Director, Sr. Pam, at 520-455-5595 or [email protected]. Download a sample weekend schedule here.