The steel framers and the drywallers continue their satisfying and successful collaboration on shaping the Chapel’s complex groin vaults
View of the Monastery from above St. Peter’s Rock looking west, before the trees soon begin to leaf out
Newly arrived bells! A bell from the old St. Raphael’s cathedral plus two newly cast bells to accompany it, plus our existing Ave Maria bell arrive at their new home
The cloister paving, modeled on the St. Benedict medal, was barely completed before being covered by an early-April snowfall
The work to finish up the Guest Wing is all interior now; landscaping and plantings are awaiting favorable weather
March 8: Community Relocation
No dry eyes as we bid farewell to our community’s home for nearly 70 years
After an early celebration of Holy Mass the oratory was dissembled; the empty wall where the crucifix hung is a fitting reminder of the imprint the nun’s prayers leave behind on these old buildings
Nuns and volunteers scramble through the hallways doing the final packing
Capital City Transfer removes the last of the chapel furniture
The rooms are bare and empty as the community departs
A procession of cars proceeds down the driveway bringing the community to their new home!
Meanwhile, volunteers help unload the moving trucks while the community is en route
Saint Ambrose students help assemble furniture
Bachmann Construction delivers and installs pews to the Chapter Room
The community is welcomed home!
The nuns are thrilled to see the New Monastery
Finally the nuns take up residence and are seen walking the corridors
Lots of new sights; here Sister Roberta points out the Church (still under construction) to Sister Stephanie
Signs help the community find their way until they become familiar with the new setting
The unpacking begins…
Monsignor Bartylla, Vicar General, arrives to inspect the temporary oratory; He reverently transports the Blessed Sacrament into the oratory
After a prayer service, Monsignor Bartylla blesses every room in the New Monastery
We’re Moving!
Beginning March 4th the community items were transported to the new location. Sisters fill the now empty bakery with boxes and furniture for the movers to pick up. Volunteers assist at the New Monastery, delivering items to the correct room. The monastery is abuzz with workers preparing for the community’s arrival.
Views from February 29:
Bird’s-eye view of the New Monastery looking south-west; the monastery is abuzz with preparations for the community’s relocation next week!
The light-steel groin vault framing in the Guest Nave awaits drywall
Electricians and plumbers assist with the CWW equipment installations; if all goes smoothly, the nuns will be back to altar bread production the week of March 11
All of the light-steel ceiling vault action in the main Chapel is happening above scaffolding that fills the nave
Drywallers, on stilts and on foot, are crafting the arches in the second floor Chapel gallery
Preparations for the Move!
The sisters are becoming experts in stretch film application! The remainder of the bakery will relocate on Monday (Feb 26); the community move will commence the week of March 4th
Volunteers Paul & Karen help with the choir furniture modification in order to fit them into the New Monastery temporary oratory; God willing, the community will be fully moved in on March 8th
February 23: Phase Three Bakery Relocation
The baking aspects of the bakery were relocated last month; now we begin moving the atomizing, cutting, packaging, shipping areas in anticipation of the community move
Accompanied by many prayers, four large machines were loaded up – three cutting machines and (shown above) a packaging machine
Safe delivery to the CWW
Through the intercession of Saint Joseph, the last minute installation of the dock lift made this delivery possible
Views from February 19:
Stonework on the guest entrance to the Chapel just completed
The cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Hying at the site blessing in October 2021
Chapel façade shines in the winter sun
Views from February 10:
The mild winter has allowed the stonework for the north side of the Chapel to be completed quickly
Stonework for the Guest entrance to the Chapel is nearly complete
The Chapel is filled with scaffolding as the light-steel framers shape the vaulted ceiling
Painting of the Refectory is finished; now, all that remains is final cleaning
Views from February 3:
The Eastern façade cladding is complete!
New Monastery exterior nearing the finish line
The Guest entrance to the Chapel narthex is framed and almost ready for the stonemasons
The bookshelves are installed in the Library—next is moving in some 6,000 volumes!
Sr Marie Pierre tests the hook heights for all the utility rooms to be sure they can accommodate various brooms and mops
Many thanks to Ben Sanders and his dad—the new layout table is in place in the sewing room
January 30-February 1: Baker Testing and Tweaking
We’re baking! Each plate gets regulated for even batter placement
Tweaks and repairs needed as the baking goes along
Philippe and Alfred carefully watch the baker function to be sure all is well
Further tweaks and experimentation
The baked sheets of bread are piled, sorted, and stored for future cutting
After three days of test-baking, both bakers are up and running smoothly
January 26-29: Baker Reassembly Continued
The baking irons are carefully return to their home on the carousel
Philippe & Alfred put the roof back on so the exhaust can be installed; the machine parts filling the CWW are clearing out
Many parts needed replacing – after 13 years of use and corrosion some parts were near impossible to get apart
Repairs to the plates were extensive and challenging with corrosion
Regulating the plates begins
Regulating the batter-wand is no small task
Plate and batter-wand tweaking takes up much of the day; meanwhile the exhaust fans were connected to the bakers
Adjustments are made to ensure the baker rotation and batter pump are in sync
Views from January 27:
The stonemasons are nearing the finish line; working in a heated enclosure they are finishing the guest corridor on the North of the Chapel
The Cloister walk that lines the inner courtyard is nearly ready for final cleaning
The Guest Nave of the Chapel is now drywalled
January 26: Founder’s Day
Founder’s Day: Today is the Solemnity of Saints Robert, Alberic, & Stephen. Zealous to serve God with greater fidelity to the Rule of St. Benedict, our founding fathers began a new monastic community in 1098. This community was first known simply as ‘the New Monastery’ – from which we gleaned our project title. As we honor them today and are grateful for their legacy, we implore their intercession as we move forward with our own New Monastery project.
Matching Challenge: We remain humbled and grateful for your generous support of our community and life of prayer. We had a matching challenge at the end of 2023 to help raise the funds to meet our budget. Thanks to your help – we met the match, and just in time! Thank you for your generous gifts toward the challenge.
Relocation Update: We had hoped to transfer the community to the New Monastery by February 1st. While much progress has been made on the buildings and we expect to have the occupancy permit by February 1st, we prayerfully discerned that a delay would be most prudent. There are some changes we have requested in order to help enhance the safety and functionality of the building for our elder nuns, as well as some errors to be corrected. This further work would be disruptive to our life of prayer, difficult on our older members, and not ideal for our monastic enclosure, not to mention an added challenge for the construction workers if we were present. God willing, we will relocate the first week of March when these final preparations are complete. Please continue to use our Prairie du Sac mailing address until then. All in God’s time!
Saints Robert, Alberic, & Stephen – pray for us!
January 25: Baker Reassembly
The second baker reassembly begins; the heavy parts take 3 or 4 people to maneuver
Electricians install the power for one baker while the reassembly continues on the other baker
Mother Anne Marie makes her monthly visit with cookies in hand for the workers; Sr Roberta and Sr Marie Pierre accompany, pictured here with Artie of CG Schmidt
The second baker gets the third tier of rings installed
Sister Marie Pierre and Sister Christina Marie discuss CWW details with Joel of CG Schmidt
Now begins the precise leveling; they plan to add the baking irons tomorrow and continue the laborious leveling
January 24: Phase two Bakery Relocation
Philippe rolls away the final piece of the second baker; the sisters are amazed to see all the pieces of the two ovens scattered on the bakery floor
After filling two moving trucks, the pieces and parts of the bakers arrive at the CWW
Carefully labeled parts fill the CWW ready to be reinstalled
Reassembly began right away; the technicians follow a precise order
The first baker is taking shape
January 22: Baker Disassembly
Philippe and Alfred, technicians from Coremat, arrived from France to dissemble and reassemble our two altar bread bakers; here they remove a baking iron with the help of a winch
The electrician, Alfred, and the mechanic, Philippe, hard at work
A local machinist and engineer, John Hallis, observes and assists the baker disassembly
The final piece of the first baker is removed! Fr. Joseph Watson, O.Cist. (right) assists as translator
Disassembly of the second baker begins; we plan to transfer the parts and pieces to the New Monastery on the 24th and begin reassembly
January 18: Phase One Bakery Relocation
The community has been packing away; every nook & cranny is getting filled with boxes complete with color-coded labels to direct the movers
Today began the bakery relocation – here the moving truck is being filled with carts toped with 50lb bags of flour
Movers disassemble and then reassemble large shelving used to store stock boxes for shipping altar bread orders
Quickly filled, two moving trucks depart the Prairie du Sac monastery and head toward Hollandale
After safely navigating the icy roads, the moving trucks were unloading at the Communion Wafer Workshop at the New Monastery
Previous Videos
January 11 VIDEO CLIP
November 7 VIDEO CLIP
October 25 VIDEO CLIP
October 11 VIDEO CLIP
July 18 VIDEO CLIP
June 1 VIDEO CLIP
APRIL 24 VIDEO CLIP
Slideshow of Previous Updates:
September 2022 to April 2023
May 2023 to January 2024
Media Links
“Cloistered Religious and the Common Good”
Bridge Builder Podcast; 7 March, 2021
“The Monastery and Evangelization”
Blazing the Trail Podcast; 24 February, 2021
“Making a Monastery”
Spectrum News 1; 14 February, 2021
“Cistercian Nuns and the Fermentation Fest”
WI State Journal; 28 September, 2020
“Living Life as a Cloistered Cistercian Nun”
Blessed Is She Blog; 20 February, 2020
“Cistercian Nuns Seek Help”
Catholic News Agency; 30 January, 2020
“Valley of Our Lady In Need of a New Monastery”
Sancrucensis Post; 28 January, 2020
“Sisters Find Grace in the Challenges”
Global Sisters Report; 16 December, 2019
“Drawing Our Will Into God’s”
St Paul-Minneapolis Catholic Spirit; 5 November, 2019
“Cistercian Sisters Seek Prayer and Support”
Madison Catholic Herald; 9 October, 2019
“Enclosed in Silence: Cistercians’ Life of Prayer Draws Millennial Women”
National Catholic Register; 3 June, 2019
“The Rediscover: Hour,” Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis
Radio interview; 29 March, 2019
