65 years of caring for the needy in northern Utah

Intermountain Catholic

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The six sisters of the Mount Benedict Monastery in Ogden gather for morning prayer.

OGDEN — In 1946, 19 Sisters of St. Benedict made the trek from St. Joseph, Minn. to Ogden, Utah, to live their philosophy "Caring for the sick as if they were Christ in person." They came to manage the new St. Benedict Hospital, but within a year they also had established the St. Benedict School of Nursing and, during the polio epidemic of 1947-48, helped care for 150 patients.

Sixty-five years later, the six sisters who now live at Mount Benedict Monastery continue this legacy of service. The monastery was built 11 years ago; prior to that the sisters lived in various places, including the hospital, which was sold in 1994 and now is known as Ogden Regional Medical. However, some of the sisters continue to work there. In addition, the St. Benedict’s Foundation maintains an assistance fund that provides monetary help for patients in crisis.

The foundation, a 501c(3) organization celebrating its 35th year, helps the sisters fulfill their vows of charity.

"With so few sisters, we can’t reach out to that many people, so we’re grateful that we can … touch over 8,000 people – mostly women and children – throughout the course of the year because of our foundation," said Sister Danile Knight, who came to Ogden in 1964 and is the community spokesperson. "It is our corporate ministry and we are proud of it."

Robert Hunter, now president/CEO of the United Way of Northern Utah, has been touched personally and professionally by the Benedictines.

"Ever since the sisters built that first hospital up on the hill up at the top of 30th Street, they have been considered the angels of northern Utah," Hunter said. "That’s how they’re looked at. I think it’s because of their spiritual demeanor. I can’t be around the sisters without having a very special feeling. It’s the same kind of feeling that I get when I’m around Bishop (George H.) Niederhauer or Bishop (John C.) Wester, the same kind of feeling that I get when I’m around one of the LDS prophets."

Hunter helped the sisters with their ‘Mission, Possible’ fundraiser in the 1970s to build a radiation therapy center and an alcohol and chemical dependency treatment center. At the time he was working for the South Ogden City mayor’s office. "I sensed then that special, special feeling that they have for the community; a feeling that just emanates from them," he said.

Years later, when his teenage daughter was about to go in for brain surgery, Sister Stephanie Mongeon joined him and his family in the waiting room. "She sat there with us that entire time. And I’ll never forget, when the nurse called our daughter, Sr. Stephanie told her, ‘I see that you’re surrounded by angels. God be with you.’ That’s the feeling you have whenever you’re around the sisters. That same feeling is threaded throughout their entire foundation. They are the foundation that fills the cracks in the community."

The foundation supports a variety of programs for women, children and families in northern Utah. In 2011 the foundation distributed $199,268 to 22 programs, including Catholic Community Services’ St. Martha’s Baby Project and Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank; Family Counseling Services, which provides therapy for women, children and families; and Ogden-Weber ATC, an adult reading literacy program.

United Way also has benefited from the foundation, Hunter said. "If they have enough money, they’ll send us a check that helps us finish off the Christmas campaign. That’s just what they do. They fill in the cracks all over the community in a very, very positive and spiritual way."

The sisters themselves also are involved with the community. For example, Sr. Stephanie helped organize the Weber Coalition for a Healthy Community, which addresses problems such as women’s misuse of prescription drugs and childhood obesity, Hunter said. "That’s the kind of leadership that comes out of that organization. Those sisters are not just giving money. They’re giving themselves, which is a very, very precious thing."