Miracle In Missouri: Peace, Justice and Unity Holy Tour

NOVEMBER 3-5: CELEBRATING BLACK CATHOLIC HISTORY MONTH
The Nun Who Put Her Abbey on the MAP

Mary Elizabeth Lancaster was a Catholic African American nun who founded the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, a contemplative order of sisters in Missouri. She was born in St. Louis on April 13, 1924, to a devout Catholic family of African American descent. She had a vision of Jesus at her first Communion, when he asked her to be his. She decided to become a nun at the age 10, and she wrote a letter to the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, asking to join their convent. She later entered the Oblate Sisters and made her vows as Sister Wilhelmina in 1948. She taught in several schools run by the Oblates and also served as a principal and a superior.

In 1976, at the age of 70, she felt called to start a new foundation of Benedictine nuns dedicated to praying for priests and offering them hospitality. She received permission from her bishop and the Oblate superior general to leave her congregation and begin the new venture. She moved to a small house in Kansas City, Missouri, with two other sisters and started the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. The community grew rapidly and soon moved to a larger property in Gower, Missouri, where they built a monastery and a chapel. The sisters follow the Rule of St. Benedict and wear a traditional habit. They are known for their beautiful singing of Gregorian chant and classic Catholic hymns, which they have recorded on several albums that have topped the charts.

Sister Wilhelmina died on May 21, 2019, at the age of 95. She was buried in a simple wooden coffin in the monastery cemetery. On April 28, 2023, her body was exhumed and found to be remarkably well preserved, which some consider a sign of holiness.

Category: Community | Religion and Spirituality