The Benedictine Sisters of Atchison, Kansas

MOUNT ST. SCHOLASTICA CONVENT, ATCHISON, KAN.
Mount St. Scholastica’s is the older of the two foundations made from St. Benedict’s, St. Joseph, Minn. It was founded in 1863, when at the request of the Rev. Augustine Wirth, O.S.B., the Sisters at St. Joseph, Minn., consented to give Sisters for the purpose of establishing a house of the order in Atchison. Late in the fall of 1863, the little band of seven Sisters, with Mother M. Evangelista as superior, arrived at Atchison, were ferried across the river, and conveyed in the “bus” of early days to the little convent prepared for them at the corner of Second and Division Streets, near St. Benedict’s Church.

Elaborate welcomes were not the fashion in Kansas in those days, but the Sisters were received by Mr. James Kennedy and Mr. Holling, both of happy memory, who had been detailed to guard the convent, threats having been made to burn it before the arrival of the Sisters. The next fourteen years lacked none of the vicissitudes which commonly befall similar establishments— a struggle for existence, with poverty, hardship and privations—a struggle in which only the generous heart can overcome, in the spirit of faith and trust in Divine Providence, and with the devotion which sweetens all adversities. This spirit of the early religious founders proved, after all, the best endowment the institution could have.

In 1877, the Sisters purchased what was known as the “Price Villa” property, situated on an eminence in South Atchison, and surrounded by twenty-eight acres of meadow and woodland. Twenty-one in number, they moved into their new home in the same year it was purchased, and from that time the growth of the institution has been marvelous. Two substantial buildings have been added, the last having a length of 191 feet, and all equipped with the latest improvements. The grounds have been so improved and beautified that Mount St. Scholastica, with its sloping lawns, walks and driveways, presents the most imposing view in the city of. Atchison.

The community of 7 Sisters has now (1912) increased to about 300 under the obedience of the Mother- House, while the academy keeps pace with the community, having more than 203 students. The course of study at Mount St. Scholastica comprises, besides the academic and commercial branches, a complete course in Music, both instrumental and vocal, while the value of art training is fully recognized. Special attention is given to the preparation of young women as teachers.

Besides the academy, 31 parochial schools in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska are supplied with teachers from Mount Scholastica, 148 Sisters being employed in these schools, with a total emrollment of 3,700 children under their care and instruction. A plot of ten acres adjoining the convent property has been purchased, and plans are being considered for the erection of a new academy building with added equipment and more added room.

The Catholic Church in the United States of America, Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X: Volume II, The Religious Communities of Women (New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), 23-24.