Community Corner

Benedictine Sisters Plan Move to Richland Township, Farewell Open Houses for Alumni

The sisters have lived and served in Ross Township for more than eight decades.

Ground is expected to be broken in the spring for a new home for the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh, a monastic community of women that has lived and served in Ross Township since about 1926. 

The new monastery will be in Richland Township, on property at 3526 Bakerstown Road that the sisters purchased in December. It will be about a third of the size of the 78,000-square-foot facility at 4530 Perrysville Avenue. 

"We are very, very happy to have lived and served in the North Hills area. It has been a wonderful experience for us to live here and be part of the community," said Sister Evelyn Dettling, a spokeswoman for the convent. 

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"It is only out of a sense of good stewardship that we are moving," she said, adding that the 10.8 acres of land in Ross and additional 40,000-square-foot building behind the monastery have become too much to maintain. 

"We have great reverence for all that we own and use," she said. "We feel that with this many buildings, too many of our resources are going into maintenance rather than ministry and service." 

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The property in Ross, which was built in 1926 to serve as housing for the sisters and as an all-girls school, is still on the market. It was appraised in November 2009 at $3.2 million. Dettling said there has been serious interest but no buyer as of yet. 

The sisters numbered about 100 when the building opened. That number peaked at about 200 during the mid-1960s. There are 52 remaining, with 44 living on-site, besides others outside the community whom the sisters have taken in.

Rare tours of the monastery will be given to former alumni of St. Benedict's Academy in the upcoming months during scheduled Farewell Open Houses. (See below for the schedule.) 

The school operated from 1931 until 1949 in the main building as Mount St. Mary's High School for Girls, and from 1950 until 1985 in the building behind the monastery as St. Benedict Academy.

"The academy was certainly a big part of our service to the North Hills," said Dettling, who taught at the school. "It was an exciting thing to work with all those young women and to help prepare them for their life's journey." 

In more recent years, the former school was home to five nonprofits. 

The new monastery in will be built on 11.8 acres of land that was formerly farmed. A 4,536-square-foot farmhouse that was built in 1831 and used as part of the Underground Railroad will remain on the site as a welcome center for the group. 

"The moment we stepped foot on the property, we knew it was a sacred space, and our hearts told us that this is where God is sending us," said Prioress Sister Benita DeMatteis. 

Dettling said it's sad to think about leaving Ross Township, but it's also an exciting time. 

"It's like the two sides of a coin," she said. "We're very, very excited and very happy about the possibility of moving to BakerstownRoad, to meeting new people, to serving new needs and to being able to steward our resources more to mission and ministry." 

The Farewell Open Houses

If you are a former student of St. Benedict Academy, the sisters will offer a series of farewell open houses on Saturdays: from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m March 31 for the 1970 through 1986 classes, April 21 for the 1964 through 1969 classes, May 5 for the 1956 through 1963 classes and June 2 for the 1935 through 1955 classes. 

RSVP by Feb. 28. If you are unable to attend with your class, choose the date most convenient for you. The sisters recommend carpooling, if possible. 

What memories do you have of attending St. Benedict's Academy or serving with the sisters? Please sign in with your real name and post a comment. Thank you!


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