The archaeologist nun “digs the past but lives in the church of today” — a Catholic New World story

First of a series by the excellent Dolores Madlener, “Conversations with the Consecrated” — that is, religious women, that is nuns. This one a Benedicting, living in community at St. Scholastica Monastery, 7430 N. Ridge Blvd.

“I grew up in a small town in New Jersey, and attended public school all the way through. I’m the middle of three sisters. My dad worked for the state of New Jersey and mom worked in our local libraries when I was in middle school.

As a child of the ’70s, I never thought of being a sister until my late 30s. Before then I had only known three nuns. “I dreamed of being an archeologist. I went on my first dig at 17. I did my B.A. at Boston University, my master’s at the University of Chicago and Ph.D. at Northwestern. I still work part-time as a research associate at U. of C.

I’ve also been cataloging books, photos, religious objects, as well as household items from the oldest Benedictine women’s monastery in the U.S., St. Joseph’s Monastery in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, which is in the process of closing. Since many monasteries descended from it, including our own, we want to preserve its history — our shared history.”

And standing ovation for the writer of the headline, “She digs,” etc.