In 1879, two Benedictine Sisters moved from Subiaco, Arkansas, fifteen miles east to Shoal Creek. These sisters were originally part of the group of four sisters who left their motherhouse of Immaculate Conception Convent in Ferdinand, Indiana, to join the Benedictine monks in Subiaco.
The vision of a new motherhouse in Arkansas was rooted in the railroad. The Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company sought more settlements near the railroad lines, and they extended an invitation to sisters and priests to settle land in Western Arkansas. The opportunity to serve German Catholic immigrants also settling along the railroad lines appealed to the hearts and mission of the monks and sisters, so land in Subiaco and Shoal Creek became the “promised land” for the Benedictines.
The first building to house the sisters in Shoal Creek was a four-room log cabin. The sisters faced bitterly cold winters, very little water, and a wilderness not easy to conquer. Despite these challenges, the sisters tended the soil, built humble furniture with their own hands, and grew in number. The four-room cabin saw additions as more young women were drawn to the life of a Benedictine Sister, and by 1898, a new quadrangular building surrounded a center courtyard—the new iteration of the cabin as the burgeoning convent grew.
By 1900, about 70 sisters were teaching in roughly 15 elementary schools in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma. The mission to serve blossomed, but this growth posed a challenge as well. A lack of water, poor roads, and inaccessible healthcare only added to the lack of space, and a decision had to be made. After consideration and prayer, it was decided that Fort Smith would meet the needs of the convent and further the mission of the sisters. In 1924, the move to Fort Smith began a new chapter in the history of St. Scholastica. Hesychia House of Prayer is now on site at the original property, a mission of the Benedictines with the help of two Sisters of Mercy, with hermitages, walking trails, and meditative spots for those seeking a place of prayer in the beauty of the Arkansas countryside.
St. Scholastica Academy opened its doors to students in 1924, continuing the work that began as St. Joseph Academy in Shoal Creek. The building was both a home for the sisters and a boarding school for students. The school served students from the first to the twelfth grade until 1936. Afterward, the lower grades through the eighth were gradually dropped. In 1944, St. Scholastica Academy solely functioned as a high school. Academy students and the sisters lived on the grounds during the school year, and during the summer sisters on missions who taught in other areas of Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas returned to the motherhouse to reside and continue their education until the school term in the fall. The academy closed in 1968, but the sisters of St. Scholastica continue to invest in education with their scholarship program, Girls’ Education Matters. Created over a decade ago, G.E.M aids girls and women in Esquipulas, Guatemala, as they attend school from elementary age on into college years.
The sisters have lived in their new one-story, eco-friendly monastery building since February 2019. Although the interior incorporates modern amenities, many elements of the former monastery building ornament the new building. The new and old combine to offer a nostalgic homage to the prayer and work surrounding the old monastery building, while offering a more efficient and comfortable home to the sisters of St. Scholastica.
Although the monastery buildings have changed over the years, the grounds retain many of the features the sisters, chaplains, and volunteers have created or constructed since the monastery relocated to Fort Smith. The sisters share the peace of the grounds with any who ask to walk the grounds, tread the labyrinth, or visit the grottoes. As the sisters continue to pray, work, and live together, they continue the way of Saint Benedict from the 6th century into the 21st century because they are simply Benedictine.
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