Sisters of St. Benedict to host Laudato Si’ Rosary in Ferdinand

The Sisters of St. Benedict are inviting the public into one of Ferdinand’s best-known sacred spaces for a Laudato Si’ Rosary that ties prayer to stewardship and care for the earth. The gathering is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Lourdes Grotto on the Monastery Immaculate Conception grounds, and there is no charge to attend.

The rosary is being offered as part of Laudato Si’ Week, linking the evening to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls attention to “our common home” and the responsibilities that come with it. The sisters have also publicly committed to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform and the Laudato Si’ Goals, signaling that the event is part of a broader religious and environmental commitment rather than a one-night observance. Refreshments will be provided afterward, underscoring that the invitation extends beyond the monastery community to neighbors across Dubois County.

For first-time attendees, the setting will be as important as the prayer. The Lourdes Grotto sits on the monastery grounds in a place shaped for reflection, and Visit Dubois County’s walking-path information identifies Grotto Hill as home to the Stations of the Cross, Rosary Steps, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto and Fatima Shrine. If rain moves the rosary indoors, participants will gather in Alumnae Hall.

The location carries deep local history. The Sisters of St. Benedict arrived in Ferdinand from Germany in 1867 and have grown into one of the largest Benedictine communities of women in the United States, with more than 95 members. The grotto itself was built after World War II by Evansville nurseryman John C. Sterneman and his five workers, making the site a visible part of Ferdinand’s religious and civic landscape.

That history helps explain why the sisters see value in opening the event to the wider public. In Ferdinand, where the monastery is a defining institution, the rosary brings together faith, place and community concern in a way that reaches beyond the convent walls. It gives residents a chance to pray in a setting built for devotion while reflecting on the same stewardship themes that now shape Catholic teaching and the sisters’ own ministry.