The Tribune

ON October 3, 1937, three native Bahamian women began a journey that was unfamiliar to the general populace at that time. They responded to the call to labour in God’s vineyard. The three candidates admitted to the formal opening of the Novitiate were Winifred (Sr Elizabeth) Claridge and Lezretta (Sr Maria) Rahming of St. Anselm’s Parish and Avis (Sr Theresa) Symonette of Sacred Heart Parish.

The Benedictine Sisters of St Martin Monastery in Nassau are a monastic community of women, seeking to follow Christ through a vowed life of stability, fidelity to the monastic way of life and obedience. They strive to be rooted in Jesus Christ, their Benedictine heritage and the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

Inviting the native women to be religious was the brainchild of Fr Bonaventure Hansen, OSB of St John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, who for many years served in the Bahamas mission.

The community grew and thrived under the directorship and guidance of the Sisters of Charity from Mount St. Vincent on the Hudson. Sisters Agatha Sissler and Risaire Rea, SC are worthy of note. On August 15, 1946, the breaking of ground for the construction of a new convent designed by Msgr. John Hawes, the architect and “Hermit of Cat Island”, took place. This new structure was blessed by Bishop Stephen Donahue of New York in 1949.

In 1952, the first Bahamian superior was appointed: Sister Elizabeth Claridge was given this honour. The community established missions on Cat Island, Grand Bahama and Bimini where the members taught, and ministered to the sick and homebound.

On September 2, 1963, under the leadership of Mother Henrita Osendorf, the Reverend Mother of St. Benedict’s Community of St Joseph, Minnesota and Sister of Father Cornelius Osendorf who also served for many years in the Bahamas, the local group amalgamated with the Benedictines.

The community was founded primarily for the sanctification of its members by observance of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience according to its Constitution, which was approved by the Pope in 1944. Secondly, their mandate was to work in the fields where the need was greatest, visiting the sick and poor in the old township, “Over-the Hill” and in the hospitals, to catechise and do other apostolic works. This mandate was later expanded to include teaching.