Where we live

St. Benedict Monastery

St. Benedict Monastery stands placidly atop green, rolling hills in Ross Township. Since 1928, it has been the home and ministry base for many Benedictine women. Morning, noon, and night, hymns of prayer and praise rise from the hearts of those assembled here to pray for the good of all people, for peace throughout the world, and for the preservation and healing of our beautiful planet earth.

Within these walls, a community of women lives humbly, reverencing one another, stewarding their resources for the good of all, and reaching out to many in a variety of ministries. Because of their deep desire to be good stewards, this beautiful, peaceful place is for sale. The Sisters desire to buy a smaller piece of land and build a monastery that is smaller. In this way they will be better able to use their financial resources and their personnel for a monastic home that is more appropriate for their size and for ministry to others.

St. Benedict Hall: “A Building with a Heart”

The building for St. Benedict Academy (SBA) was conceived in love and hope and built with the blood, sweat, tears and fasting of the Benedictine Sisters who dreamed and longed for her completion. In the fall of 1950, this strong, beautiful, well equipped building eagerly opened her doors to the senior, junior, and sophomore classes who could not wait to get out of the overcrowded classrooms housed in the then “Mount Saint Mary Convent.” And how gladly she embraced the large, new class of giddy freshman girls!

Those were the heady days of her youth. She sported marble halls, gleaming floors, classrooms that were spanking clean, and windows that glistened. The whole place reverberated with youthful energy and enthusiasm. What a positive, life-giving atmosphere for education! Within her walls young women were respected, nurtured, and encouraged to dream and to become the very best they could be in the fields to which they aspired. Excellence was the standard here and it was carried aloft by dedicated teachers and students alike.

This building lived to be “alma mater”—she breathed leadership and inspired character. She watched young women grapple with the intricacies of chemistry and physics, languages and mathematics, typing, shorthand, and accounting. She applauded their achievements and enjoyed their play. SBA was a proud host to dances in the cafeteria, basket ball games, and plays and musicals galore, and a chorus that sang in perfect pitch. Sometimes she sighed to herself, “Oh, never a dull moment!” Yet she was proud that SBA graduates were welcomed into colleges, universities, and the corporate world because of their education and skills.

And don’t forget love! Friendship, compassion, forgiveness, unselfishness were nurtured and embraced. Here the seeds of religious vocations came to blossom. Students entered the Benedictine Sisters and other religious communities. Some returned as teachers. Lifelong alliances were forged here. JoAnn Wallace of SBA basketball renown, and John Rooney are one of many couples who met and fell in love here under her watchful eyes. JoAnn & John recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

In the tradition of other hallowed and haunted halls, St. Benedict Academy had its own ghost! How many young women over the years swore up and down, “Yes, I saw her. I did! I met Irene!” But the building protected its own poltergeist even from two self-appointed ghost-busters who hid and stayed overnight, bound and determined to find her. Elude them she did, and her legend lived on.

Thirty-five years—a blink of an eye! The times were changing. Painful decisions were made. With the graduating class of 1985 the “alma mater” closed her academic doors and she mourned the passing of her daughters—but not for long. The building was now mature. Some of her gleam and glitter were gone but not her good heart. She was ready to welcome the new, the different.

By the fall of 1985, in collaboration with the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging, this gracious building now known as St. Benedict Hall became home to the Benedictine Senior Center. The building came of age while older adults availed themselves of the ample opportunities provided for on-going education, recreation, socialization, and good nutrition. Energy and enthusiasm filled the lower floor of the building—granted it was a little slower paced, as is becoming to the more mature!

Those adults, who were more at risk, needed more specialized care -- more one on one attention and concern -- also found a safe place in St. Benedict Hall at Benedictine/Easter Seals Adult Care Center. Nourishing meals were provided, medications were supervised, activities and entertainment brightened the days of many frail and lonely people. It also provided respite for caregivers who were engaged in full -time employment.

A little later the school kitchen was transformed by Lutheran Services into the perfect place for “Meals on Wheels”. The aroma of good food, the laughter and goodness of volunteers packaging and transporting the food to shut-ins were like magic and grace for everyone. St. Benedict Hall was both blessed and blessing. Staff, volunteers, and sales people loved coming here.

The spirit of this place was further enriched when Ross/Mercy Behavioral Program arrived, filling the entire floor with clients and caregivers. The order of the day was indeed mercy that is, giving respect, dignity, compassion, and quality care to each of the clients. How proud St. Benedict Hall was to provide a lovely, safe, and welcoming place for these people in need.

Then one day the construction workers arrived and battered the walls of the top two floors until classrooms and library and labs gave way to apartments that would house women and children. The HEARTH Program was a joyous addition to other non-profit ministries that were housed in St. Benedict Hall. With it, youthful energy returned filled with hope for the future. Through the HEARTH programs single mothers were sustained, encouraged, and challenged to attain their greatest potential for the good of their children. Families were saved. Grace abounded. St. Benedict Hall, a place for comfort and strength, was a place where one could breathe and stretch. For the most part, life was good.

1985-2009 - the years went by like a blink of the eye. But the times were changing. Difficult decisions were made once again and now all the property of the Benedictine Sisters was put up for sale. The Sisters plan to build a smaller, environmentally friendly monastery that will serve as their home and base for ministries. They are doing this in order to better steward their resources and personnel for the good of all whom they serve now and in the future.

In the fall of 2009, all the non-profit ministries in St. Benedict Hall were advised of the sale and told they needed to find other spaces for their programs. It was indeed a challenge to all involved and especially to the Sisters, who loved, supported, sustained, and encouraged all of the ministries in St. Benedict Hall.

This cherished, warm-hearted building, born of the love, dreams, and sacrifices of the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh is poised to move on. She is ready to open her arms and her heart to a new owner, to a new adventure even while she sings:

All this joy, all this sorrow,
All this promise, all this pain.
Such is life,
Such is being,
Such is love.
(John Denver)

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