Celebrating 100 Years "At Home" in Idaho: 1090 ~ 2009

In 1882 the first three Swiss pioneering sisters arrived in the United States from Sarnen, Switzerland. Mother Johanna Zumstein and Sisters Rosalia Reubli and Magdalene Suter lived and worked at Gervais, Oregon before moving to Uniontown, Washington in 1884 and then to Colton, Washington in 1894. Their task was to develop an enclosed monastery similar to the one they left behind.

Left to right: Sr. Magdalene Suter, Mother Johanna Zumstein, Sr. Rosalia Ruebli.

It became immediately obvious, however, that the sisters were needed in the church’s mission work in the newly settled west. Responding to the pressing needs of the pioneer families for education and health care they quickly and effectively began staffing parish schools and starting hospitals. The sisters plunged into the education of the Wapatos at the Grand Ronde mission in Oregon, then proceeded to build and develop schools for the settlers in eastern Washington. They arrived in Idaho in 1905 to staff St. Joseph’s School in the prairie town of Cottonwood.

They had always desired to have a community of Benedictine priests as spiritual directors alongside their community of sisters (a relationship similar to that of Sarnen and Engelberg, Switzerland). When an opportunity for such a relationship arose, and with the persistent urging of local residents John and Gertrude Uhlenkott, four sisters journeyed to Cottonwood, Idaho in 1905. In 1906 the sisters voted to move the Motherhouse and Novitiate from Colton to Cottonwood and in 1907 Mother Hildegard Vogler brought the sisters to Idaho with the intent to establish a permanent community. In 1909, the sisters purchased 160 acres of timberland and 30 acres of farmland. The Uhlenkott’s gave the sisters 85 acres of unbroken land. The sisters eventually purchased eleven acres from Joe and Anna Ungrund where they began construction of their permanent community, the present site of the monastery.

On April 26, 1909, St Gertrude’s was officially declared the Motherhouse – marking the beginning of 100 years of presence on the Camas Prairie. The journey “home” had taken 25 years.

By the 1950’s the sisters worked in 18 parish schools; owned and administered two catholic schools – St. Gertrude’s Academy and St. Mary’s Academy in St. Maries, ID – and a junior college; and owned and operated two hospitals – Our Lady of Consolation (soon to become St. Mary’s Hospital) in Cottonwood and St. Benedicts Hospital in Jerome, ID.

The tumultuous decade of the 1970’s found the church – and indeed, the sisters – facing unprecedented challenges raised by Vatican II. The grievous decline in membership at St. Gertrude’s during this decade was not only devastating, but also it was a call to reexamine the Gospel and live it in the new circumstances.

Emboldened by the Pope’s proclamation for monasteries to “revive their ancient traditions of service and so adapt them to the needs of today,” the community considered whether their traditional ministries of education and health care were the best areas in which to focus their services based on their monastic traditions.

The women and men that the sisters had educated and trained to become teachers and hospital administrators were more than capable of carrying on the work of the sisters. Freed to begin ministering in emerging areas of need in society and the church, the sisters found themselves heavily engaged in pastoral work and the spiritual development of the person.

Today the sisters believe that God desires them to share their home and space with men and women of all faiths who seek a reflective, sacred time of spiritual renewal and nourishment. This work, known as the Spirituality and Retreat Ministry, brings nearly 1,500 people to the monastery annually. It now has its own space – Spirit Center – dedicated to retreats for spiritual renewal as well as for educational and cultural activities.

The sisters continue to minister to nearly 7,500 people each year through the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude. This public trust is an educational and cultural resource that amazes visitors and tourists in its quality and content.

Long an activity of the sisters, but not seriously managed until recently is the Stewardship of the Land Ministry. Through an active forest management program the sisters maintain 1,000 acres of healthy timberland that helps financially sustain the monastery. This deep care for the land – stewardship – draws people to the monastery to participate in the sisters’ organic gardening, canning and food preservation and recycling efforts.

Being responsive to God’s call and the needs of society seems to be key to St. Gertrude’s increasing membership. Current membership is 61 sisters and three women in formation with several women considering their options.

The sisters continue to look for ways to develop their ministries while financially supporting themselves. Currently, sisters earning employment income contribute to the support of the members living at the monastery. Other financial resources include investment income, retirement benefits, forest and farm land income, donations and money raised through work done at the monastery: the Book and Gift Shop, candle-making, the museum, Spirit Center, and more. The monastery is a financially self-sufficient organization that is not directly supported by the diocese or Catholic churches at large.

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For more info on the
Centennial Celebrations contact the Monastery of St. Gertrude:
monastery@StGertrudes.org
or by phone at 208-962-3224.