Sr. Benedicta Boland, Osb

Sister Benedicta Boland, OSB, 91, a Benedictine sister of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kan., died Thursday, September 29, 2016, at the monastery. The vigil service will be Sunday, October 2, at 7 p.m. in the monastery chapel, and the Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated there on Monday, October 3, at 10:30 a.m.

Born on a family dairy farm in Port Hudson, Mo., Sister Benedicta was one of ten children of John and Cecilia Boland. When she came to Guthrie, Okla., in 1940, to attend the first vows of Sister Cabrini, her sister, the prioress suggested that Benedicta finish high school with the Benedictines in Guthrie. She did, entering the monastery in 1942, several months before graduation. She was soon asked to accompany community prayers on the organ. She taught in parish and community schools and also served as liturgical minister. After receiving her graduate degree in liturgical studies at The Catholic University of America, she was director of the Tulsa Office of Liturgy from 1978-83. As part of Red Plains Monastery in Oklahoma, she served on its monastic council, and in its formation and oblate programs. In 1983, her focus became spiritual direction, retreats and training others in ministry. When the Red Plains Monastery closed in 2010, the sisters there joined the Benedictines in Atchison. She continued to direct the Retreat in Daily Life in Atchison for several years. She enjoyed music, reading and working outdoors and continued to contribute to the liturgy and music of the monastery until her death.

Sister Benedicta was preceded in death by her parents and by her brother, Father Aloysius Boland, and sisters, Anna Boland, Cecilia Boland, Frances Buchheit, Rose Marie Nealon, and Sister Cabrini Boland, OSB. She is survived by her brothers John, Sylvester and Richard, nieces, nephews, and her monastic family. Arensberg Pruett Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be sent to Mount St. Scholastica or made online at the Mount's web site (www.mountosb.org).