Beekeeping Benedictines
Mount Saint Benedict Monastery
Crookston, MN
The sisters at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Crookston, MN ran a beekeeping and honey industry from the 1920s through the early 2000s. This included not just beekeeping, but gathering honey, rendering beeswax, making molded beeswax figures & dipped beeswax candles, which Sister artisans decorated for special occasions (weddings, first Communions, etc.) and sold to support the community. The Sisters gained notoriety for their expertise in beekeeping, and hosted beekeeper’s association meetings at the monastery. In 1931, the Sisters won a blue ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair for their beeswax & honey products.
