Our History
Community History
Moved by the Spirit: Article by Sister Ana Cloughly
Monastery at Benet Pines
Dear Families and Friends,
Thank you for helping us ‘Create our Benedictine Future.’
We have designed this booklet to share with you our new Monastery and Ministry
Center here at Benet Pines. Please accept this simple introduction to our home as an invitation to join us in
carrying out our Community’s Mission:
We are a contemporary Benedictine Monastic presence. We
provide the sacred space of hospitality and the use of our human
and material resources in education, spirituality, and other viable
ministries. We do this with all God’s people with a special emphasis
on women.
Our response to the Word of God and the issues of our day is found in the flexible space for our lifegiving
spiritual/educational programs within the monastery, and our retreat ministry. We also invite you
to join us in our monastic call to ‘seek peace and pursue it non-violently’(RB Ch. 4)… peace in our hearts
and peace in our wounded world.
Once again we offer you humble gratitude for helping us ‘Create a Benedictine Future.’ Please know that you will always have a very special place in our hearts and our daily prayer, and that you are always welcome to ‘Come away and rest awhile’ in nature, with yourself, others and your God.
Benet Hill Monastery was established
in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a foundation
of Mt. St. Scholastica located in Atchison,
Kansas. Benet Hill is rooted in over 1500 years
of the Benedictine Tradition that was born in the
hearts of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, “To
Seek God in community.”
Benedictine women arriving in Colorado in 1914 have been faithful to the Benedictine motto: Ora Et Labora, Work and Pray. The sisters have provided a broad range of educational and spiritual services over the past 95 years to the People of God in Colorado and in other parts of the world. They served as teachers and administrators in schools from the San Luis Valley to the Mile High City. They founded and staffed schools in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Lakewood, Colorado.
Since the 1970's Benet Hill sisters have served in a variety of parish and diocesan ministries throughout Colorado and nearby states. They have also held leadership positions in human services and educational institutions.
In 1963, the sisters founded Benet Hill Academy and for 20 years provided more than 2,000 girls
with a college-preparatory academic education. With the closing of the Academy, in 1982 the sister’s, ever
faithful to listening to God’s voice with the “Ear of their Hearts”, opened an Adult Faith Formation Center
in 1982.
Benet Hill Center has continuously offered an educational and formational curriculum that has
empowered thousands of Adult Lay Christians to deepen their Baptismal call to Holiness and the spreading
of the Gospel. Heeding the directive of our Vatican II Church and responding to the “Issues of our
Day”, Benet Hill has sponsored programs in Sacramental, Scriptural and Liturgical Studies, Contemplative
Prayer, Spiritual Direction and Retreats. Programs are open to all Faith Traditions.
Continuing the Benedictine commitment to Lay Formation, these programs are now offered at the
Benet Hill Monastery’s
Benet Pines Ministry Center, situated in a rural woodland,
contemplative setting located in the northeast area of Colorado
Springs. In order to extend the spirituality programs to individuals
located anywhere in the country who are not able to travel to
Benet Pines, Benet Pines Ministry staff has developed ministry programs to be presented on-line through distance learning technology beginning in 2009.
Mission assignments abroad for individual Benet Hill Sisters have included El Salvador, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Sister Naomi Rosenberger currently ministers to the people of the Diocese of Mandeville, Jamaica.