Learning to Lead: The University of Mary, 1959-2009

How does one capture the spirit of a group of monastic women who chose to leave what they knew and loved in Minnesota for the prairies of western North Dakota? The Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery are called the founders and sponsors of the University of Mary, but perhaps pioneers would be the defining word. If they could serve the people of the area and advance the Kingdom of God, these faith-filled Sisters were ready to move westward, reach outward, and lead forward with persistence and courage. That is how they began fifty years ago in 1959, and this is the 50-year story of the University of Mary, located near Bismarck, North Dakota.