House of Kerst
Colors: Purple and Black
Virtue: Fortitude - the cardinal virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.
Scripture: For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them. Ephesians 2:10
Personality: Deep love of the Eucharist, kindness towards one another, commitment to better this world for future generations, perseverance, and in true Benedictine spirit - work hard and pray hard (ora et labora).
Biography: Mother Scholastica Kerst (1847 - 1911)
Born Catherine Kerst in Prussia in 1847. At the age of 5 her family emigrated to America and settled near St.Paul, MN.
Catherine entered a Benedictine convent at age 15. She told her parish priest she was desired to become a Benedictine sister because, “I read somewhere that they receive Our Blessed Lord (Eucharist) once a week oftener than other Sisters…If I should be a Benedictine for ten years, I would receive 520 more Holy Communions than I would in any other sisterhood. That would mean everything to me."
“She proved to be a practical, adventurous and self-confident young religious with a flair for leadership.” She was appointed superior of her Benedictine community at the age 32. She was nicknamed “Hurricane Scholastica” for her fervent passion and commitment to open schools and hospitals across central Minnesota.
In 1892 Mother Scholastica and 31 sisters arrived in Duluth to establish a new community and convent. Duluth was growing rapidly and there were many new immigrant families in need of not only spiritual support, but education and medical care. The northwoods needed Hurricane Scholastica! The Benedictines answered that call and got to work opening over 10 schools just in Duluth, including St. James and St. John’s schools. During Mother Scholastica Kerst’s 19 years as prioress, the monastery grew from 32 to 161 members. By the time of her death in 1911, the monastery was staffing 18 elementary schools, four secondary schools, five hospitals, an orphanage, a retirement home and a school of nursing that would eventually become the College of St. Scholastica. A local priest remarked “She was gifted with more than ordinary talents, having an excellent education and unlimited ambition for progress. She had in addition an indomitable will to carry out her plans for extending the work and influence of the Benedictine Sisters in Minnesota.”
On one occasion Archbishop Ireland of St. Paul was visiting. "Tell me, Mother," he asked, "what is the secret of your success?" She replied, "I do not think there is any secret about it. We just plod along, and when we fail, which frequently happens, we take courage and try again."
At the age of 63 Mother Scholastica’s health began to fail. In her final days her greatest regret was that she was unable to join the rest of the sisters for their prayers and Mass. A small altar was set up in her room where the priest would offer the Mass. In her final statement to the sisters she shared, “My prayer has always been...give me souls. That is the way I worked for my children in school and that is the way I have tried to work for my Sisters, and I gave you into the hands of our Heavenly Father. I would like to have stayed with you a little longer and reached my fiftieth anniversary, but if this is what God wants, I am resigned." She encouraged the Sisters to welcome manual labor and most of all, she begged her Sisters to love each other, to be kind and accepting: "I would suggest that everyone write in her little memo-book the resolution to practice sisterly love with the greatest possible fervor and earnestness."
Her funeral Mass was presided over by a friend, Monsignor Buh, in addition to many other clergy. In his eulogy Bishop McGolrick noted Mother Scholastica Kerst’s significant influence on Duluth, saying, “She built my diocese.”Archbishop Ireland said Mother Scholastica “was among the great apostles of the Church in Minnesota.”
Throughout their 131-year history in the Duluth Diocese, Benedictine’s founders, the Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth, have taken on challenges unheard of for women of their time, establishing schools, hospitals and one of the first health insurance programs. Despite poverty and a harsh, unforgiving climate, they adapted to new circumstances to survive, grow and serve.
Mother Scholastica exemplifies the virtue of fortitude in her courage and perseverance to take up Christ’s great commission to “to go make disciples of all nations.” She was undaunted by the harsh conditions of the northland, nor the immense task of caring for the people of Duluth and their needs for education, health care, and the Gospel. She was willing to try, fail, and try again as she admitted, “We just plod along, and when we fail, which frequently happens, we take courage and try again."
