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.
