Sisters of St. Benedict to Host St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn Sacred Music Series

Ferdinand — On Sunday, November 6 at 3:00 p.m. EST, the Sisters of St. Benedict will host a concert as a part of the St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn Sacred Music Series.

The First Presbyterian Choir of Evansville will be performing at Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand. The Choir School, directed by Robert Nicholls, consists of the adult members of the Choir of First Presbyterian Church and children and youth who receive training from second grade onward in singing, sight-reading, music theory, liturgy, teamwork, and leadership skills.

Even the youngest members of the Choir School program sing with the adults during worship every Sunday morning during the academic year.

This concert will have a wide-ranging program with music from the early Seventeenth Century (Heinrich Schütz 1585-1672) through living women composers (Margaret Burk b.1990). In addition to general anthems, the choir will take a journey through the Liturgical Year.

The event will be open to the public, and there will be a free will offering available for those who want to give their support. The Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand are grateful to the Verkamp family for establishing the St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn Sacred Music Series Endowment in honor of Sister Mary Aquin and Sister Mary Ann Verkamp. Its purpose is to provide sacred music concerts and speakers for the monastic community and the public.

The Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand make up one of the largest Benedictine communities of women in the United States — over 110 members strong and thriving. They seek God through the Benedictine tradition of community life, prayer, hospitality, and service to others. By their life and work, they commit themselves to be a presence of peace as they join their sisters and brothers in the common search for God.

The Monastery Immaculate Conception was founded in 1867 by four young Benedictine sisters who came to Ferdinand to teach the children of area settlers. Since then, more than 1,000 women have entered this community. Their ministries extend both beyond education and beyond Ferdinand, with members of their community serving as teachers, social workers, parish ministers, counselors, nurses, youth ministers, chaplains, librarians, and more.