Benedictine Nuns Make Their Home on the Range

Catholic News Service ^ | 5/12/15 | Jim West

[marshmallow]

VIRGINIA DALE, Colo. (CNS) -- Sister Maria Walburga Schortemeyer is at home wading through the mud and manure of a barnyard in boots, work pants, a fleece jacket, and her white veil.

Minutes later, in the black-and-white habit of a Benedictine nun, she is equally at home singing psalms and praying the Divine Office in a chapel with other nuns.

Sister Maria Walburga is the ranch manager at the Abbey of St. Walburga in Virginia Dale. The town sits in the arid and isolated foothills of the Rocky Mountains, almost within shouting distance of the Wyoming border.

This community of 24 Benedictine nuns is a semi-cloistered contemplative order. They view their main work as prayer, coming together in the chapel seven times a day. What makes them unusual is their ranch. They raise beef cattle on 250 acres that they own and another 1,500 acres where they have grazing rights.

The abbey was originally established in Boulder in 1935 by Benedictines from Eichstatt, Germany, who fled Adolf Hitler's growing power. Benedictines have always been associated with agriculture, and the Boulder community established a dairy and grew alfalfa, corn, oats and barley for the cows. When the abbey needed to expand and with Boulder growing into a crowded city, the sisters moved to Virginia Dale in 1997 on land donated by a Denver couple.

As they moved, the sisters changed from raising dairy cattle to beef. They keep 40 female cows and a few bulls and steers. Calves stay until they are ready for slaughter at 2 years old. The cows all have names, which Sister Maria Walburga maintains is not an issue when it's time for slaughter. The processing is contracted out to a commercial operation.

[lesko]

What great timing to see this article on FreeRepublic. Sister Gertrude, mentioned in the article, visited our mass two weeks ago at Holy Trinity here in Cheyenne and gave a short speech following Communion. First time I had seen the full habit in many years.

[Carthego delenda est]

Thanks for posting this! I’ll have to ask the brothers at Our Lady of Guadalupe (http://www.ourladyofguadalupemonastery.com/index.html) if they are familiar with this. They raise some dairy cattle and usually just one steer for beef for when someone gets sick and needs some extra nourishment.

After reading the article I’d now like to take a road trip and visit them! Prolly won’t happen though, health issues and too much work to do around here, with the garden and all. It inspires me to read of other Benedictine communities and I am very fortunate to spend Sunday’s at the one near me!