volume 13 issue 1 July 2012

MISSISSIPPI ELECTS ITS 4TH t t it it W W /Bill /Bill o o t t o o Ph Ph

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Mother Rebecca receives the crozier from Hanus. Mother Rebecca Stramoski - Every six years our community chooses its came up and made her promise of obedience to spiritual leader, and on May 7th the solemnly the new abbess (the came up for a hug!). - professed members of Our Lady of the Missis- A native of San Antonio, Texas, Mother sippi Abbey gathered in the abbey and Rebecca entered our community when she was 25 elected Sister Rebecca Stramoski to be our new and made her solemn profession in 1995. She has abbess. Dom Brendan Freeman, our Father served us in a wide variety of jobs indeed, and at Immediate, presided at the election and two of the time of her election she was the novice direc- - our brothers from New Melleray Abbey were tor, grounds keeper, and farm manager, and also with us as witnesses. In accordance with monas- maintained our candy machinery. Guess which of tic custom and our Cistercian Constitutions, our these jobs is hardest to replace? Hint: she is still new abbess was immediately installed in her glimpsed from time to time at candy, covered in office, and then one by one each professed sister grease… t it W /Bill o t o Ph /Fr Stephen Verbest o t o Ph

June 15: and lining up for the entrance procession. Three : M. Nettie, M. Rebecca, and M.Gail

On June 15, the feast of the , Day for ”) we were invited to a Archbishop Hanus gave Mother Rebecca the prayer service Archbishop Hanus conducted for abbatial blessing at a solemn Mass in our chapel. religious of the . We all went! We had In his homily the Archbishop spoke of two Cis- gotten word ahead of time that a number of tercians, St Bernard and St Gertrude, who were people would be particularly honored at this devoted to the Sacred Heart of long before service, among them our own Sr Gail Fitzpatrick, the feast was officially established in the Church. our abbess for 24 years. St. Gertrude wrote of how Jesus said to her We sisters are well aware of how much Sr "Behold my Heart, let it be your temple." He con- Gail’s horizons extended, and continue to extend, cluded his homily encouraging each of us to to the broader church and indeed to all the world, make our own hearts a temple for Jesus to dwell which she holds in her heart. The archbishop was in - to love and be loved. hoping to present the papal award Pro Ecclesia et After Mass we had a picnic here on the Pontifice to the all the honorees on February 5, Abbey grounds, with our Worker friends but the awards did not arrive in time, so Sr Gail cooking and serving. We put up two tents to received hers in our own chapter room a couple accommodate ourselves and about 80 guests, of weeks later. including our retired Archbishop Kucera, all our Our daughter house in Norway, Tautra Mar- current , numerous Cistercian abbesses iakloster, was raised to a Major on March and , our brothers from New Melleray, 25th. As a “simple priory” they were basically representatives of all the congregations of sisters autonomous but still had a right to our help if here in Dubuque, and some of Mother Rebecca's needed. Becoming a “major priory” means that, family and friends. God blessed us with perfect within the