Retired sisters redirect their ministry in their new Benedictine home

By LISA EISENHAUER

SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Circumstances that threw a curve into plans for the opening of a new addition at Benedictine Living Community — Shakopee smoothed the way for 113 retired School Sisters of Notre Dame to move there last year.

The sisters were in search of a new home after the congregation decided to sell their provincial residence, Our Lady of Good Counsel, about 60 miles away in Mankato, Minnesota. The residence was too large for a congregation that, like others across the nation, is shrinking. The residence, which dates to 1912, also was becoming too costly to maintain.

Meanwhile, the opening of Benedictine Shakopee’s newly built independent and assisted living addition, known as Windermere Way, was delayed for several months to November 2020 due to a malfunctioning sprinkler system. Even with the delay, the opening came as the spread of COVID-19 and related restrictions were

Srs. Rose Anthony, left, and Lavonne Krebs, right, unload belongings last fall at Windermere Way, part of Benedictine Living Community — Shakopee in Minnesota.

Srs. Anthony and Krebs were among 113 retirees from the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province who moved to the community from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Mankato, Minnesota.