FERDINAND — The Sisters of St. Benedict are in the midst of a $6-million capital campaign for building improvements at the Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand.
Prioress Barbara Lynn Schmitz said the campaign, which began last November, is all about preserving the historic monastery and preparing for the future.
“This is our way of showing hospitality to people of the area and to receiving everyone as Christ,” Schmitz said of the campaign and improvements.
Much of the campaign’s funds are earmarked for the creation of a new Benedictine Hospitality Center, which will house monastery guests, and will be located in an east portion of the monastery’s historic Quadrangle. The sisters hope to have the new hospitality center complete and ready for guests by July 2018.
“It will be a true destination in Dubois County, serving the many individuals and groups in the region seeking a beautiful, peaceful and welcoming place for reflection, growth and renewal,” according to information provided by the Sisters of St. Benedict. Nearly 12,000 people visit the Monastery Immaculate Conception every year.
Other building projects included in the campaign are the deconstruction of Madonna Hall, which began late last month; a new parking lot and roadway; a new roof over the location of the new Benedictine Hospitality Center; a new roof over the Academy Annex building; the closing of the current hospitality center, the Kordes Retreat Center, for a new ministry; and other smaller, cosmetic projects.
Schmitz said the Sisters of St. Benedict have already raised about $2 million for the campaign, which includes a $50,000 grant from the Dubois County Community Foundation, and they have a matching donation of up to $2 million. The Sisters hope to have the remaining $2 million raised by this fall. They will continue to raise funds through various fundraisers and to accept donations from donors across the United States.
Outside of the sisters’ current capital campaign, they are continuously raising funds for senior sisters and the Sisters of St. Benedict ministries.
Health care for all sisters costs the Sisters of St. Benedict more than $3 million per year. Schmitz said more than 90 sisters who live at the monastery are age 70 or older, so the health care costs will only increase. Ongoing fundraising efforts help sustain the monastery’s Hildegard Health Center, a 17-bed licensed nursing care facility. The Sisters of St. Benedict are also forging a partnership with a professional healthcare provider.
“Many sisters are in need of care and do not have a salary,” Schmitz said. “To meet their needs is a challenge for us.”
The sisters also have a restricted fund for senior sisters’ care. That endowment should be around $52 million, although it’s currently at about $20 million.
Continuing fundraising efforts also benefit the sisters’ ministries, such as prayer and liturgy, teaching and school, parish ministry, and spiritual direction and retreat ministry.