A joyful event has finally been accomplished by the Sisters at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. Sister Martha Ueda, who was elected Prioress earlier this year, has worked diligently to transfer the remains of Sister Francetta Vetter from the Catholic Cemetery in Tokyo to the Benedictine Monastery Cemetery in Muroran.
The monument in the cemetery plot of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Hokkaido, Japan where the ashes of Sisters Francetta, Bernardin and Marie Beda will be buried.
The urns of Sister Francetta Vetter and Sister Bernadin Sakurai in the Chapel at Saint Benedict Monastery in Hokkaido, Japan.
A little history…The Benedictine Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota was asked through a communication from Rome to send Sisters to China primarily to teach in the newly established Catholic University. 109 Sisters volunteered. On August 30, 1930, Sister Francetta Vetter, Sister Regis Zens, Sister Donalda Terhaar, Sister Rachel Loulan, Sister Ronayne Gergen and Sister Wibora Muehtenbein from Saint Benedict’s Monastery, were sent as missionaries to China. The Sisters faithfully committed their lives to teaching, catechetical/pastoral care and humanitarian assistance as was possible. This included caring for wounded soldiers on the trains from the battlefield and the people in the refugee camps, all in very primitive conditions. They lived in poverty like their neighbors and endured life under house arrest and the concentration camps for years during Japanese Chinese War and World War II. In the spring of 1949 with the imminent threat of the communist invasion, the Sisters left China to continue missionary work in Formosa (Taiwan). Within a year, war again threatened their lives in Formosa. Al Americans were urged to leave Formosa because of the Chinese threat to invade the island. Only Sister Francetta and Sister Regia were able to get passage on a boat to Japan. The other Sisters moved to the northern region of Formosa.
In Tokyo, Japan there was a welcome from the Benedictine monks of Collegeville, Minnesota for Sister Francetta and Sister Regia. There was also a new challenge to find a way to live in a foreign land. Over time, the sisters developed a Benedictine Monastery and a famous cooking school that served a need for hundreds of students including Japanese women and American military families.
Sister Francetta had a charismatic gift to respond to everyone with respect, enthusiasm, and always loving kindness. It was said of her at her death on December 27, 1966, that, “She was a great lady, and her charity is legend in all of Tokyo.” She was buried in Tokyo. Sister Martha wrote, “I am convinced that the existence of our convent in Japan today is due to Sister Francetta’s momentous decisions and foresight, and above all, to God’s providence.”
Together in life and in death…Since the Benedictine community today has settled in Muroran, Hokkaido, the Sisters have desired to move the remains of Sister Francetta to their monastery plot in the Muroran Boyodai Cemetery. Sister Martha has done the formalities with paperwork, communications and all the requirements necessary to bring Sister Francetta’s ashes to Muroran. With government approval her ashes have been exhumed and moved to the chapel in Muroran. They are next to the ashes of Sister Bernadin Sakurai who died recently. When the ashes of Sister Maria Beda arrive from the university hospital, they will have a Memorial Mass and bury the ashes of the three sisters in the cemetery in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. They expect that will happen in September 2026. Thanks be to God.
Sister Linda Soler, a member of St. Paul’s Monastery, serves at Hill Murray School as a sports chaplain. Hill Murray School is a Catholic Benedictine prep school and shares a long history with the monastery. Sister Linda’s ministry was recently featured in the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper:
Sister Linda Soler is the spiritual leader, and loudest cheerleader, for Hill-Murray football
Sister Linda looks on as she stands with the Hill-Murray football team during the national anthem on Sept. 11.
(Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
By Chip Scroggins, The Minnesota Star Tribune, September 22, 2026, at 4:45 AM.
The players position their football helmets in the shape of a triangle and form a huddle around them. Practice just ended. Their season opener is four days away. They are sweaty and tired, but their excitement is high. They have been eagerly awaiting what comes next, a tradition they love. They brace for a jolt of enthusiasm from their biggest fan, who just so happens to be holding a vial of holy water.
“This is going to be a dang good year!” shouts 65-year-old Benedictine Sister Linda Soler. “You are going to be pumped. You are hungry. And we are going to make magic happen.”
With that, Hill-Murray’s players take a knee, interlocking arms, as Sister Linda sprinkles holy water on helmets, players and coaches. She offers a prayer, then finishes with a flourish.
“Boys, I’m so dang proud of you,” she says. “I can’t wait. You ready for this? I want the sisters over at the monastery to hear this.”
She cups her hands to form a megaphone at her mouth and screams, “Saint Benedict!”
Players: “Pray for us.”
The volley of chants lasts a few more seconds before Sister Linda makes a heart shape with her hands above her head and says, “Love ya, boys.”
They love her back. This is evident anytime she’s nearby.
The Pioneers, 2-1 and ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, are loaded with talent, but they believe an integral part of their success is the support and encouragement they receive from their team chaplain, Sister Linda.
“She’s great for the kids,” coach Rob Reeves said. “She’s a little bit of a safe space for them to go to at times when life kind of hits.”
Players know she’s always there to provide comforting words in any situation.
Feeling anxious about something? Go see Sister Linda. Have a relative who died? Go see Sister Linda. Worried about an exam in a class? Go see Sister Linda.
“It’s like going to a grandma — the coziest person ever,” senior lineman Jack Weyandt. “She will always be there.”
There’s no mistaking that Sister Linda answered her call to be a Benedictine Sister. Her compassion is matched only by her exuberance around Hill-Murray’s campus and St. Paul’s Monastery.
Locating Sister Linda at a football game is the easiest thing to do on a Friday night. She’s the one with a loud voice. “I can be rambunctious,” she admitted. “And animated.”
Her voice echoes across the field in four primary cheers devoted to each quarter:
First quarter: Come on, boys. Where do you think you are, the Sleep Number store?
Second quarter: The only thing you should be hungry for is a W, not DoorDash!
Third quarter: What did you do, buy tickets to watch this game? Come on, there’s a football game happening out there!
Fourth quarter: Whose mommy came down singing a lullaby!
“The energy and excitement,” Reeves said, “the kids eat it up.”
Her early life goals painted a different picture. She figured she would get married and find a job as an ophthalmologist assistant.
Raised in St. Paul and schooled at St. Bernard’s, Soler was the fourth of six children to parents who kept their rosary close by and made Sunday Mass mandatory.
Her mother died when she was 8, creating a void that led to an inflection point in her early 20s. She was angry and not going to church. Searching for something to anchor her life, she found a religious community and “knew instantly that’s where I belong.”
She believes her experience losing her mom allows her to connect deeply with young people. “When you lose a parent at an early age, you learn what inner pain is,” she said. “When you can learn that and deal with it as an adult, you gain a greater understanding of the needs within our youth.”
She made her final vows to become a sister in July 1997 and began doing parish work. She got called to serve in a leadership role at St. Paul’s Monastery located next to Hill-Murray.
The school hired her initially to oversee students’ service requirements. Then came an idea from school officials: Create a new role as sports chaplain.
She played softball as a young girl, earning the nickname “Soler Energy” because she could hit the ball hard. She loved football, too. That stood out to former Hill-Murray coach Pete Bercich, former Vikings player and coach and current radio analyst.
“Sister’s priority and her only concern were the kids,” Bercich said. “She loves the school, loves football and first and foremost, she loves those kids and cares for those kids.”
Her relationship with Pioneers football became so impactful that the school expanded her role as chaplain to all sports. She meets with every team once a year to deliver a message and blessing. She tells people that her job description is determined by whatever students need from her. “They always need a safe environment and a safe adult they can talk to,” she said.
The sister keeps an office in the school so students can stop by for counsel. Or a hug. Her hugs are limitless.
“She’s got more energy than a four-year-old,” said Weyandt, the senior football player.
Said Sister Linda: “I’m childlike in many ways. There is an inner child in me.”
One example: She loves Mickey Mouse. She has Mickey Mouse slippers and a Mickey Mouse watch.
The team gave her a present after a recent practice. Sister Linda had trouble with the cap on a water bottle during a game. She drenched herself on a frigid night. Players knew the right gift for her. A Mickey Mouse sippy cup.
“They’re so tender,” she said.
Zooming around campus on her golf cart, Sister Linda knows all the shortcuts. She brakes suddenly every so often because she can’t go 10 feet without a friendly face waving and calling out her name.
“Sister Linda!” a group of students shouts to her.
The build-up to the football opener is filled with good vibes.
Sister Linda gives every player a Saint Benedict medal and sprinkles holy water on their helmets in a traditional blessing.
Players gather in the school’s chapel for a customary pregame meeting with Sister Linda four hours before kickoff. She has news to share. She won’t be at the game, the first one she has missed since taking over as chaplain.
She was invited to speak at the wedding reception of former Hill-Murray player Zach Zarembinski, who had suffered a brain bleed during a game in 2018. Sister Linda supported him throughout his recovery.
Zarembinski met a girl who also had suffered a brain injury while they were in the hospital together. They fell in love and set their wedding for the evening of Hill-Murray’s opener.
Sister Linda shares a video that Zarembinski recorded for them.
“Remember this,” she tells players after the video, “if you’re in need and I’m there for you, I’m not going to abandon you. Never will I abandon you.”
Sister Linda expanded her vocation by becoming a chaplain for the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office last year. She volunteers one weekend each month to do ride-alongs and crisis calls. She ministered to families at the hospital after the Annunciation school shooting.
“That job balances my exuberance with spirituality,” she said.
The game-day chapel service is designed to bring some levity and focus before games. They begin with a contest between three players to see which one can make the toughest, meanest, scariest flexing pose. The one that elicits the loudest cheers wins.
Players are understandably antsy with a new season kicking off in a few hours. Sister Linda asks them to “dial in.”
She reminds them that sports teach lessons and reveal character beyond the final score.
“The scoreboard does not define who you are,” she says.
Players move to the front of the chapel and sit on the floor underneath the cross. They sit in silent reflection and prayer for 10 minutes.
Players then leave in silence, touching a cross that Sister Linda holds at the door as an acknowledgement that any burden they carry is being left there, not brought onto the field.
“She’s always getting our mind right and getting us back to what’s most important,” Weyandt said. “That allows us to play without a lot of fear.”
The Pioneers defeated Chisago Lakes 49-0 that evening. A surprise came with two minutes left in the game when Sister Linda walked onto the field. She had hustled back from the wedding.
“It was almost like a magnet seemed to pull the entire team on the sideline to greet her,” said Lara Juras, a Hill-Murray parent.
The student section began its customary “Sis-ter Lin-da” chant. Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.
“Just seeing the spontaneous flow of players to surround her in obvious affection and reverence was amazing,” said Paul Juras, Lara’s husband. “A great embodiment of the impact she is making to the Hill-Murray students and larger community.”
Sister Idelle Badt, a social worker, is a welcoming presence at Stepping Stone Ministries in Bismarck, North Dakota. She is a member of Annunciation Monastery.
Sister Idelle is pictured here with Eagle Scout, Ethan Konieczka, who designed and built locked bedside stands so Stepping Stone residents would have a secure place to store their belongings.
Good News about Stepping Stone Ministries
Stepping Stone Ministries was featured on June 17, 2026 in the Global Sisters Report online. Stepping Stones provides a safe environment with respite care for homeless persons who have been discharged from area hospitals but who are too ill to recover on the streets.To read the article and learn more about this innovative ministry, click below:
Care of the sick must rank above and before all else, so that they may truly be served as Christ, for he said: I was sick and you visited me (Matt 25:36), and, What you did for one of these least brothers and sisters, you did for me (Matt 25:40).
On July 11th, Sister Paz Vital made her Perpetual Monastic Profession before the community, oblates, and friends. Her ritual was on zoom for those who could not attend in person. A dinner and celebration followed.
Sister Raphaela Cady, Sister Tamra Thomas, Sister Michelle Sinkhorn, and Sister Stefanie MacDonald founded Benedictine Tech Ministries. Sisters Raphaela, Tamra, and Stefanie are from the Monastic Congregation of St. Benedict. Sister Michelle is from Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Indiana.
Global Sisters Report Features Benedictine Tech Ministries
Benedictine Tech Ministries was featured on May 1, 2026 in the Global Sisters Report online. To read the article and learn more about this innovative ministry and how it helps Benedictines connect, click below:
“Strive to translate Benedictine values into today’s language.”
Sister Margaret Michaud, who served as president of the Monastic Congregation of St. Benedict (then Federation of St. Benedict) from 1981 to 1991, died on Saturday, November 8. The Eucharist of Christian burial will be celebrated at Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, MN, on Friday, November 21.
Sister Margaret was born in Eau Claire, WI, in 1935 and became a member of St. Bede Monastery, Eau Claire. She was prioress at St. Bede from 1972-1980 and 1996-2008. In 2010, the Wisconsin monastery was closed and all of the sisters transferred to Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, MN.
Sister Margaret served two terms as MCSB president during which she presided at four congregation chapters. When the new Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1983, she led the congregation through revision of its constitutions which were approved by the Holy See in 1987.
As president, Sister Margaret focused on fostering the monastic identity of the congregation and its member monasteries. She led the congregation in articulation and clarification of Benedictine values. Her motto was, “Strive to translate Benedictine values into today’s language.”
During her terms as president, two monasteries were received into the congregation: St. Benedict’s in Japan and St. Benedict in Taiwan. Nonetheless, she recognized a new phase in Benedictine life based on a decline in vocations and noted that diminishing human resources posed the question of survival itself.
Sister Margaret was active in Benedictine life beyond the United States. In 1987, she attended the first International Symposium of Benedictine Women in Rome, which was a step in the formation of Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB). She also served as a board member of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID).
Sister Margaret was a lifelong student and teacher of the Benedictine charism. She wrote and spoke about the Rule of St. Benedict and monastic life extensively. She taught by word and example.
Stepping Stone Ministries, a new nonprofit organization in Bismarck, ND, will provide transitional care for individuals experiencing homelessness who are too ill to return to the streets or shelters but no longer require or qualify for acute care. Sister Idelle Badt, a member of Annunciation Monastery, is one of the founders and serves as the CEO. Martha Reichert is the other founder and the executive director.
Open houses were held September 27 – 29 to show their new space to area providers and partners, donors, Sisters and oblates of Annunciation Monastery, and the general public. Stepping Stone Ministries hope to start receiving clients the week of October 6.
Martha Reichert, Executive Director, and Sister Idelle Badt, CEO. of Stepping Stone Ministries Ribbon cutting in front of the Stepping Stone Ministries building with representatives from the Bismarck/Mandan Chamber, Stepping Stone Ministries board members, and Annunciation Monastery L to R: Sister JoAnn Krebsbach, Oblate Jeannine Saabye, Sister Patricia Schap, and Sister Kathleen Del Monte (St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth) at the open house
The Sisters of Annunciation Monastery, the leadership and associates of St. Alexius, and the Bismarck/Mandan community celebrated the 140th anniversary of St. Alexius Hospital on May 6, 2025. A Mass of Thanksgiving was held at the Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary with Bishop David Kagan, Bishop of Bismarck, presiding. A celebration at the medical center followed with comments from representatives of CommonSpirit Health and the City of Bismarck.
Sisters from St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, MN founded St. Alexius Hospital, the first hospital between Seattle and St. Paul, in 1885. Abbot Alexis of St. John’s Abbey assisted the sisters in purchasing a hotel to become the hospital building. They were the first Benedictine Sisters to work in healthcare ministry. Sponsorship of the hospital was given to Annunciation Monastery when they were established as an independent community in 1947. Benedictine Sisters have served at St. Alexius since its founding. Two Sisters currently serve at St. Alexius and several sisters volunteer at the hospital.
Sisters of Annunciation Monastery and guests at the Mass of ThanksgivingSister Nicole Kunze, Prioress, reading at the MassSister Nancy Miller, Director of Mission, speaking at the celebration
Benedictine Sister Linda Soler sprinkles holy water on Hill-Murray football players and their helmets at the end of practice Aug. 26. It is an annual ritual she initiated when she became chaplain of the football team. (Photo by The Catholic Spirit)
Sister Linda Soler, a member of St. Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul, MN, was featured recently in The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, for her role as chaplain of the sports teams at Hill-Murray School.
Sister Linda brings her energetic personality and Benedictine spirituality to sports events at the middle school and high school, especially football games. “She comes to every game and has formulated a pregame ritual in which players file out of the school building in Maplewood and onto the field, reaching out to touch a cross she holds up while standing at the gym’s exit door.”
Sister Linda told The Catholic Spirit that the Hill-Murray students give her energy. “They are the future. I believe they nurture my vocation. They really do. They have so much life in them.”
Off the field, students often confide in Sister Linda who has mastered the first word of the Rule of St. Benedict: “Listen.” In one case, she spent time with a student whose friend had died by suicide. “She really just listened to me and let me share my story and talk about the struggles of what I was feeling,” the student said.
At the end of the school day, Sister Linda can be found in a police car. When a Hill-Murray student is pulled over for a traffic violation, she assists the police in handling the situation and helps the student call their parents. She aspires to be a police chaplain someday.
For now, however, she is dedicated to the students. “I would say they have a home in my heart,” she said. “And I just look at them with eyes of joy.”
