Update: Sr. Theresa Scheuren, RIP

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Published on Monday, 08 December 2008 21:27

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"She edified all of us by her presence, her good humor, and her cheerful acceptance of suffering," said Fr. Garrity, remembering Sr. Theresa who died Sunday morning after a long illness. A funeral Mass will be Thursday, 4 p.m., at the oratory preceded by a wake at 2:30 p.m. The 5:15 p.m. Mass Thursday is canceled. A reception will follow the funeral Mass.

"We are all enriched for having known Sr Theresa," said Fr. Garrity, calling her a "dear friend of Ave Maria University."

"How she loved the students! She prayed for and encouraged our students constantly."

Sr. Scheuren grew up in South Dakota and was inspired by Benedictine sisters at Mt. Marty High School in Yankton, SD, according to a biography on the Queen of Peace Monastery website. She entered the Benedictine community at Mt. St. Scholastica College in Atchison, KS, where she attended college. She worked with Sr. Gertrude Gillette to establish the Benedictine monastic foundation at Ave Maria.

The complete biography from the Queen of Peace Monastery website follows:

Sister Theresa Scheuren, O.S.B., was born in Wagner, South Dakota, a small town near Yankton, South Dakota. Her parents sent her to Mt. Marty High School in Yankton where she received an excellent education. The Benedictine Sisters who educated her initiated her into the liturgical life of the Church and inspired in her a love for the Benedictine life. She attended Mt. St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas, and entered the Benedictine Community there. When the Sisters there founded a new community in Glendora, California, she became a founding member of St. Lucy's Priory.

She graduated from the University of San Diego, California, with a B.A., and received her M.A. in Theology from St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota.

One of the primary apostolic endeavors of the Benedictine Sisters in the US was the education of the young and so she was assigned to teaching for many years. She was also involved in Development work at St. Lucy's Priory High School and built a new gymnasium for the school. This led to her role as Development Director at St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo, California, where she assisted the monks in the many ways of raising funds for the Abbey.

Sister Theresa embarked on another great adventure: helping to establish a new Benedictine monastic community for women in Naples, Florida. Her wonderful energy, joy, and past experiences all come together as so many gifts in establishing new beginnings.