A Quick Look at the Founding History
Benedictine Sisters
Sacred Heart Monastery – Dickinson, ND
Sacred Heart Monastery began on September 27, 1910, in Elbowoods, ND, as a mission house of St. Joseph’s Convent in St. Mary’s, PA.
On October 21, 1916, Sacred Heart Convent in Elbowoods became an independent motherhouse — the first Benedictine motherhouse in North Dakota.
Photo Caption: Original motherhouse, Elbowoods, ND. Construction began on July 19, 1912, and the sisters moved in on September 23, 1912. Fr. Paul Lotter, OSB, built the convent for $3,400 plus his labor. The sisters used inheritance money they had brought with them to cover the costs. This convent, which served as their first motherhouse, housed the community from 1912–1920.
Origins
The community traces its roots to Eichstätt, Germany. In 1852, some sisters immigrated to St. Mary’s, PA, and founded St. Joseph’s Convent.
Decades later, Bishop Vincent Wehrle, OSB — first abbot of Assumption Abbey and first bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck (1910–1939) — sought Benedictine women to serve in his new diocese. After several convents declined his request, he traveled to St. Joseph’s Convent in St. Mary’s, PA. He was tired from a long train ride, cranky and stubbornly unwilling to depart without any sisters. He explained to the prioress that he was desperate to find sisters for a boarding school for Native American children. Mother Gabrielle Eichenlaub, prioress, eventually chose four sisters who volunteered to go to Elbowoods, ND.
After traveling more than 3,000 miles by train, they arrived in Elbowoods on September 27, 1910.
Foundress
The community’s first prioress was Mother Pia Tegler, OSB. She was born on September 12, 1850 in St. Mary’s, PA where she was prioress at St. Joseph’s Convent from 1887-1890. She was house superior of Sacred Heart Convent from 1910-1916 before becoming our first prioress from 1916-1925. She died on July 28, 1928.
First Service
At the request of Bishop Wehrle, the sisters established a boarding school for Native American children. Within just weeks of their arrival — by October 10 or October 19, 1910 — they, together with two Benedictine Fathers, opened the school with 47 Native American children and a few white children enrolled.
Two sisters served as certified teachers, while the other two managed cooking, housekeeping, and care for the boarders. The sisters faced many challenges, including language barriers with the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa (Grosventre) tribes and the children’s unfamiliarity with religious sisters in traditional habits. The children may have been puzzled and perhaps even frightened by their appearance with long black dresses and only their face and hands showing.
Artifact Spotlight
The monastery’s oldest artifacts are two pieces of wood from the original 1912 convent in Elbowoods. In 2001, the community received both an exterior and interior piece of wood from the person who purchased and moved the convent to Newtown, ND, in 1953.
A display was created with the large outer piece of wood to include a 15-decade rosary once worn and prayed by the first sisters, a photo of the convent, and a photo of five sisters who once lived in Elbowoods. Mother Pia Tegler is pictured second from the left, wearing an early version of the community’s headdress.
