Sister Helen Seidel

I grew up on the North Side of Pittsburgh. Nowadays people might say, “Could anything good come from the North Side?”. Here I am!

I wanted to be a Sister from the 3rd grade. Daydreaming during my writing period and looking at my teacher, Sister De Sales as she was teaching I carried on a conversation with God while looking at the sky from my desk. I told God that it was my decision to be a Sister if that’s what He wanted but, if not, I would be a good mother for Him. After 8th grade I attended the Aspirant Class with the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh; a high school boarding school for girls who were thinking of becoming a Sister. And just last year I celebrated 50 years of professed religious life.

Benedictine life is one of Prayer, Family and Work. We keep working on all three of these values all our lives. The Scriptures and the Holy Rule of St. Benedict are our foundational books and all others support this living and study in the Benedictine Life.

The Psalms from Sacred Scripture recited and sung with the community is my favorite ministry along with my former days of teaching. Now the community is engaged in many different ministries reaching out to other depending on the gifts and talents of each Sister.

The Holy Rule speaks to me every day because it develops my whole life in body, mind and spirit. It is my time clock to keep me in touch with Monastic Living as St. Benedict lived it, how we live it today and what it will look like in the future.