We are grateful to all those who sponsored, participated in, and volunteered at the 2026 Mary Lou Kownacki Memorial Golf Tournament. In spite of morning thunderstorms, by the time the tournament started the sky was clear and the sun was out making for a day of great golf. These were the overall winning teams:

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt today visited the Benedictine Sisters of Erie to celebrate their Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award from the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and to induct two members of their community into the Pennsylvania Voter Hall of Fame.

Erie Benedictines Cindy Hoover, Marian Wehler, and Pat Witulski were among twenty Benedictine sisters who traveled to Rome to experience both the history of the Benedictine wisdom tradition and the ongoing presence of the teaching and example of Benedict and Scholastica in today’s world. From May 26 to June 11, the sisters visited Norcia, Pesinula in Rome, Subiaco, Monte Casino, and Assisi among other sites. They met with Benedictine sisters and monks in Norcia, saw St. Francis of Rome Monastery, met the Bastia Sisters near Monte Casino and the Bastia Sisters near Assisi. The trip was an immersion in Benedictine life and in the church culture in and around Rome. They stayed with Missionary Benedictine Sisters at the Casa just outside of Rome.

The final 170th Anniversary Event, an SBA Open House, brought 200 alumnae and sisters together in the former SBA building. Marie Tarasovitch Peterson, '87, who helped plan the open house, gets a selfie with classmates in the library.

The community welcomed and blessed three young women who recently moved into the monastery. Sister Diane Rabe, administrator of the community, invites the sisters to bless Emilia Otte from Connecticut and Miriam Freer from Philadelphia.

Michelle Basista, CFRE, Development Associate with the Benedictine Sisters, was asked to join the SBA Alumnae Association Board. While Michelle, far right in the above photo, is not an SBA Alum, she is a 1981 graduate of the St. Benedict Child Development Center that is housed in the original SBA Academy building on East 9th Street. “I am honored to support the SBA alumnae board and all their efforts to promote Catholic education, support the ministries of the Benedictine sisters, and encourage the alumnae to stay connected,” said Michelle, who has been working with the board since she joined the Benedictine Sisters in 2020. She is pictured at the Christmas in July bingo with Board members Sue Chase ‘82, Valerie Purzycki ‘88, Katie Young ‘87, Darlene Kerstetter ‘82, and Cheryl Zingelewicz ‘65.

Sister Jacqueline-Small's final essay for her class "The Rule of Benedict" at St. John's University appears in the new issue of Tjurunga, the Australian Benedictine Review. It will also be translated into Spanish where it will appear in Tjurunga's Spanish equivalent. Titled "'Not as this World gives': Peace in the Rule of Benedict," it was Sister Jacqueline's response to the assignment to to choose a word or theme from the Rule and trace it throughout the entire text, in order to better understand what Benedict really meant about it. "I chose 'pax,' which appears only a few times in the Rule despite being a classic Benedictine quality," Sister Jacqueline said.

Please join us on Thursday, July 30, at 5:15 pm to pray at the site where Tobias Ya'Shan Lee Huff, Da'Liyla Lelona Huff, and Amirah al-Mansouri died in a house fire on March 29, 2026, 535 E 26th Street*. Take Back the Site Vigils reclaim the place where violence has occurred. We pray for all people who are harmed by violence: victims, perpetrators, bystanders, friends, families. We believe that a nonviolent way of life is possible. The 15-minute vigils are ponsored by: the Benedictine Sisters of Erie and Oblates, the Sisters of St. Joseph, Agrégées, and Associates, and the Sisters of Mercy and Associates. Join event on the Benedictines for Peace Facebook page.