Community Foundation Grants $50,000 to Sisters of St. Benedict

Dubois County, April 12, 2017:  Dubois County Community Foundation announces a $50,000 investment in the Sisters of St. Benedict for facilities improvements on the monastery grounds.

The funds will be used for a new Benedictine Hospitality Center that is being incorporated into the original monastery building.

“We are most grateful for the support of the Dubois County Community Foundation,” said Sr. Barbara Lynn Schmitz, Prioress.

“The Benedictine Hospitality Center will provide us modernized facilities to serve people of all faiths and welcome them where they are on their journey of spiritual growth,” said Sr. Schmitz.

The Sisters have been in a multi-phased fundraising campaign since 2011 to help ensure the retirement of their aging members, fund their ministries and right-size their facilities. The Benedictine Hospitality Center is expected to open in the summer of 2018.

“The Sisters are working to grow, adapt and prepare for their future in more efficient and relevant ways,” said Clayton Boyles, executive director of the Community Foundation. “We want to support those efforts and help them continue on a path of sustainability,” Boyles said.

“Many people who participate in retreats on our campus refer to the feeling of peace they experience here. We look forward to serving as a beacon of peace, hope and stability in this ever-changing world,” said Sr. Schmitz.

The grant was made from The Fund for Dubois County, an unrestricted endowment and the Ferdinand Community Endowment. It will be paid out over a two-year period.