Pittsburgh, PA.

This October has been a busy month for conferences. For the second year in a row, the Sisters traveled to Pittsburgh for the Catholic Identity Conference, organized by Michael Matt and the Remnant. This time, Sister Mary Ann was honored to speak on “The Role of Women Religious in Bringing Christ to the World.” The Sisters also had a table with the conference vendors, featuring monastery goods and gifts from our True Devotionals Gift Shop. It was a true blessing to reconnect with Catholics from across the country and to meet and hear from so many inspiring speakers.

Rome, Italy

Meanwhile, two of our Sisters had the privilege of attending the International Marian Congress in the Eternal City—Rome! Appropriately, the theme of the congress was “De Maria Numquam Satis”—”Of Mary, there is never enough!”

The two-day congress featured prominent figures such as His Eminence Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, and Professor Roberto de Mattei, among other international speakers.  Each talk presented Our Lady’s titles and privileges in a different light, through history, devotion, doctrine, and dogma, especially highlighting her role as Mediatrix of All Graces and Co-Redemptrix of the World.  It was also inspiring to meet the speakers and other attendees who traveled from as far as the Caribbean, Nigeria, and New Zealand, truly representing the universality of the Catholic Church.

Arriving in Rome three days before the congress, the Sisters made the most of their time by visiting many of the holy sites and relics. Highlights included St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, St. John Lateran, the Basilica and Catacombs of St. Sebastian, and St. Mary Major. They had the opportunity to walk Rome’s streets “in the footsteps of the Saints” and pray before the martyrs’ tombs. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Syracuse, NY

The month will round out with a trip to upstate New York, where the Sisters will have a table of monastery goods at the 2026 Syracuse Catholic Women’s Conference. We hope to see you there!

In anticipation of Divine Mercy Sunday a few Sisters made a mini pilgrimage to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge MA during Easter break. Unfortunately the Shrine Chapel was not open due to visitor restrictions for Covid… or so we thought! No sooner had the pilgrims arrived than they met Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, Director of the Association of Marian Helpers, who graciously allowed the Sisters to visit the Shrine and gave them a full tour! It was a blessing to be able to see the Shrine in its Easter glory, to spend time in prayer and also to venerate the relic of Saint Faustina which is enshrined there.

After a picnic lunch on Eden Hill, the Sisters made the Stations of the Cross at the Shrine then headed off to visit the nearby Marian Missionaries of Divine Mercy. Our friend Father James welcomed the Sisters and gave them a tour of the projects there! It was an impressive tour, and all the hard work of the missionaries is obviously blessed by Our Lady! It almost felt like our monastery!

Enjoy a few photos of the pilgrimage day below!

The Sisters, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Saint Benedict Center, are excited to have their own home online… and you have found it!

The Saint Benedict Center website has existed for a number of years and will continue to be a great place for featuring the various apostolates of our busy monastery. However, the new Sisters MICM site (as with our facebook page) will be a lovely spot to highlight many different facets of the life of the Sisters. We are excited to be able to share more of our beautiful life here!

We look forward to updating it often and keeping contact with all our friends, family and benefactors from across the country and beyond! Visit again soon!